The New Kid
by Megamind-loves-Roxanne
Summary: EPILOGUE NOW OUT!!!!!!!! PART 5 ALSO REVISED!!!! Please review!!!! It's an AU type story. What if Van was just a regular kid on Earth? What types of things would happen?
1. The New Kid Part 1

Hi everyone! I want to present to you the best story I ever wrote (at least, that's what everyone tells me through e-mail :)). It's the story that earned me a nominee in the Escaflowne awards. You be the judge of how well I did. I wrote this story when I was a beginner writer and if you read my other works (the more recent ones) then you can see why it's written the way it is. The other reason is because I haven't revised it yet and I don't plan on doing it right now because I'm too busy doing other things (and continuing other stories). 

VERY IMPORTANT NOTE! PLEASE READ!!! I want to point out something that people kept complaining about. In this story, there is a repeated annoying event and if you notice it, tell me. I know what it is but if YOU can see it, then please forgive me. Like I said, I was a beginner writer when I wrote this and the repeated annoying event is actually crucial to the story (at least, for me it is because if I change the repeated event, it changes a lot of the story).

Okay, go ahead and read the fic! Enjoy and please review!

The New Kid

By Hitomi_Fanel

Disclaimer: I don't own Escaflowne. 

"Hitomi! Wake up! You're going to be late for school!" a voice called from downstairs.

Hitomi opened her eyes and glanced at her clock. It read 7:00 (in Japan, high school kids enter class a 9). She groaned since she wanted to sleep some more but instead she sluggishly got out of bed and headed for the shower. It was a beautiful Monday morning but Hitomi wasn't looking forward to it.

She headed for the shower and got ready for school. Downstairs she heard her mom making her breakfast. She sniffed the air, enjoying the sweet smell of French toast.

Hungrily, she headed downstairs. She saw her mom putting her plate of food on the table. "Don't forget Hitomi. You have to pick up some groceries from the store. You have the list don't you?"

Hitomi nodded as she took a bite out of the French toast. "Yes mom. Don't worry, I'll get the groceries. I have to go to school. Bye."

Hitomi grabbed her backpack and headed out. The sun beat down on her as she saw Yukari waiting for her like always. "Hey Hitomi."

"Hey Yukari," Hitomi greeted. She noticed that Yukari was happier then usual today. "Why do you look so happy?"

"You'll never guess! A couple of houses down from mine, this new family moved in."

"Why would that make you so happy?" Hitomi asked. Something was up and Hitomi knew it.

"Because, you should have seen their son. He is such a hotty. He is so cute. Luckily he looks our age so he'll probably go to our school."

Hitomi just giggled. She would have to see this so called hotty for herself. 'Yukari just exaggerates. I bet he's regular looking.'

They continued to walk to school, unaware of the change their lives would take starting today...

^_~^_~^_~^_~^_~^_~^_~^_~^_~^_~^_~^_~^_~^_~^_~^_~^_~^_~^_~^_~^_~^_~^_~

Once Hitomi and Yukari arrived at school, they parted and headed to their own separate classrooms.

Hitomi arrived at her classroom and sat down at her seat. A girl she knew walked over.

"Hey Hitomi," she said. She was shorter than Hitomi and had short back hair.

"Hey Dui. Why do you look so happy?"

Dui smiled the smile that everyone smiled when they had a secret to tell. "Well, I just heard from some of my other friends that this really cute guy has just transferred from another school. I also heard that he is coming to this class. Isn't it exciting Hitomi? I just can't wait to see him."

Hitomi only smiled. This was the second time someone had mentioned this new kid and said that he was cute. Hitomi would have to see it to believe it.

Once their teacher walked in, everyone took their seats. "Okay class, I have some news. There's a new student here today."

Hitomi looked over at Dui who gave her a 'thumps up'. Hitomi only sighed and faced the teacher again.

"Everyone please welcome…Van Fanel." 

At the mention of his name, a boy stepped through the door. The girl's immediately fell in love with him. He was a pretty tall boy. He was only a couple of inches taller than Hitomi, with black, unruly hair, reddish-brown eyes, and a tan. He had a soft look that really showed when he smiled. 

"Okay Van, please take a seat and we can begin class," the teacher ordered softly. 

Van nodded and took a seat behind Hitomi. Hitomi was amazed that he had taken that seat since there were other empty seats available. 

Hitomi noticed that many girls frowned when they saw where Van decided to sit. 

^_~^_~^_~^_~^_~^_~^_~^_~^_~^_~^_~^_~^_~^_~^_~^_~^_~^_~^_~^_~^_~^_~^_~

Once class was over, Hitomi headed for her next class. She didn't notice that Van was following her. 

"Hey," Van greeted from behind her. 

Hitomi jumped and turned around. 

Van gave her a charming, apologetic, nervous smile. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." 

Hitomi shook her head. "No, you didn't scare me. You just sorta surprised me." They began to walk through the halls and Hitomi still noticed the girls give Van flirty smiles while they flashed her hate looks. She chose to ignore this. "So, where do you come from?" 

"I come from Hokkaido." Van was either totally oblivious to the girls' looks, or he didn't care.

"That's pretty far. What made you move here?" 

Van shrugged. "My dads new job. You know how it is." 

"Not really. I've never moved before." 

Van blinked in surprise. He began to laugh. Hitomi only looked at him. 

They reached Hitomi next class. "Do you have this class?" Hitomi asked. 

Van looked at the sign. "Hm, Algebra, no, I don't. But maybe we'll have the next class together." 

"Yeah, maybe." She entered without telling him goodbye. 

To be continued.... 

Okay, so what did you think? Tell me. Of course I have the whole story done but I can't send it unless I get reviews. It all depends on the reviews I get how well I did this and if it deserves the nominee I got. And okay, so I did revise it a little. If you want to read the ACTUAL way it was written, go to the website below. I must warm you though, this version is better than the other (in my opinion). Okay, now review please!

http://www.angelfire.com/rpg/fanfiction Look under "J" and look for "Jessica Hernandez-Loera". Those are all of my stories. But you want to read "The New Kid" probably. And if you want, go ahead and read my other stories, plus stories by other authors. Well, bye!


	2. The New Kid Part 2

HitomiFanel: Hey everyone! I'm back with another part for you. Thanks to all who reviewed.

Zakyra: Hey everyone! (Looks at Hitomi) Hey Hito, when are you going to introduce me?

HitomiFanel: (sweatdrop) Oh, sorry Zakyra. People, I got tired of doing this introduction stuff alone so I brought along Zakyra. She's a character from my fanfic "The Adventure of a Lifetime" that's a Hey Arnold fic that I'm working on.

Zakyra: How you all doing? So what's going on with this story?

HitomiFanel: Well, I was getting to that. I want to present part two of my fic! I hope everyone enjoys it.

Zakyra: That didn't really answer my question.

HitomiFanel (sweatdrop): Well, I'm not about to reveal anything. So go ahead and read!

The New Kid

Disclaimer: I don't own Escaflowne.

After Hitomi's algebra class was over, Hitomi headed to the track field. She knew Yukari was there, waiting for her like always. She was glad to be excused from her third period history class anyway. She hated her history class. (I'm sure we all agree with you Hitomi :)) Although today she would have been grateful for SOMETHING to take her mind off the new kid. He seemed so strange to her, although handsome. She shook her head from the thought. 'Stop it Hitomi!' she scolded herself. 'You're acting just as dumb as all those other swooning girls.'

Once she got there, she spotted Yukari and headed toward her. "Hey Yukari."

Yukari spun around and smiled. "Hey Hitomi. Glad you came on time for a change. I heard from Dui that the hotty is in your first period class and that he sits right behind you." She got a dreamy gleam in her eye. "You're so lucky Hitomi. Everyone is so envious of you."

Hitomi only sighed as she took off her school uniform to reveal her track shirt and shorts. 'Yukari will never change' she thought as she laced up her track shoes and headed to where all the girls were standing.

Before getting into position, Hitomi looked around at all the people and spotted Amano. She smiled at him and he smiled back. 'I wonder if he likes me like I like him.'

Hitomi knew that wasn't true though when she saw Amano walking towards Yukari. Hitomi had always known that Amano liked her but Hitomi tried to pretend that that wasn't so. She would always dream about Amano telling her his feelings. It seemed all she could do was wish.

She tried to ignore them now by getting into position and concentrating on the race. The gun was shot and she was off like a bullet (pardon the pun). She ran as fast as she could. She had practiced way too much for this. She couldn't give up. On the way, she saw the new kid, Van, standing on the side and watching her. He had on this smile that would have made any girl swoon.

Hitomi was so distracted by it that she began to slow down. Once she remembered that she was in a race, it was too late. She continued onward, trying to get her mind back on the race, and ended up in third place.

Hitomi was furious by this. She had practiced way too much to end up third. She decided to blame it on the new kid. Of course, she wasn't about to go and tell him and fume at him. She was too mad at him to even speak to him.

She walked over to Yukari and Amano instead who looked disappointed by the place she got.

"Don't worry Hitomi. I'm sure that next time you'll do better," Amano tried to reassure her. He wasn't doing a good job though, especially since…

"Geez Hitomi, what did you do? You were doing great at first, then I saw you start to slow down. Did you get tired or something?" Yukari asked in her trainer voice. "You'll never make it to the championships if you keep that up."

Hitomi didn't want to tell Yukari that the new kid distracted her or else Yukari would be on her case saying that maybe she liked him or something. "Yes Yukari, I began to get tired. I'm sorry for letting you down."

She smiled, turning into her best friend form instead of her trainer one. "It's okay Hitomi. With some more practice I know you'll be able to do it."

Hitomi only quietly groaned to herself. She didn't need anymore training but she guessed it was better than constantly being pestered about liking Van.

Amano and Yukari left Hitomi to get ready so they could go home. 

As Hitomi was putting her school uniform back on, a shadow overlapped her. Hitomi turned around and discovered the new kid standing there, a big smile on his face.

"Hi. I saw you run. Why did you slow down?" he asked, as if he didn't know that he was the cause.

Hitomi blushed with fury and embarrassment and frowned at him. "It was your fault. I saw you standing on the side and I began to slow down because of it."

Van only began to laugh. "Why would that make you slow down?"

This was a question Hitomi didn't want to answer. She picked up her duffel bag and walked away to go meet Yukari and Amano. She was glad that Van didn't follow her.

-----

After what happened with Van, Hitomi decided to go home instead of accept Amano and Yukari invitation to go get some pizza. She didn't feel much like enjoying herself and stuffing her face with pizza.

'What's the matter with me? Why is this affecting so much? I don't get why I feel so different now that that new boy came' Hitomi thought to herself as she finally reached home.

She heard murmurs inside that she didn't recognize. She opened the door and saw two people seated with her parents on the couch. One had on a business suit and his hair looked like Van's (!!!: Means Hitomi makes the realization) and the other had on a lovely dress and had long, dark hair.

"Hitomi, welcome home. Please meet Mr. and Mrs. Fanel. Mr. Fanel is in the same business as your father (don't ask because I don't know what business he's in). I heard from them that their son Van goes to the same school as you," Mrs. Kanzaki said.

Hitomi freaked with that bit of information. 'Great, not only am I confused on what's going on with me and him, but now it turns out that Van's dad is in the same business as my dad.'

She bowed in front of them. "Please to meet you Mr. and Mrs. Fanel."

Mrs. Fanel giggled at how nice Hitomi was. "We're so glad to meet you too Hitomi. We've heard a lot about you from our son," Mrs. Fanel commented.

'I wonder what he said to them about me?' Hitomi thought as she only picked up her head to look cluelessly at them. Then she straightened up completely "If you'll excuse me, I need to go do my homework. It was a pleasure to meet you."

Mr. and Mrs. Fanel nodded in agreement.

Hitomi climbed the stairs to her room. She could hear the murmurs continue downstairs as she closed the door behind her.

She didn't really have homework to do. That was just an excuse to leave the room. She plopped down on her bed and decided it was time for a nap.

To be continued…

HitomiFanel: Well, that's all for now.

Zakyra: That wasn't really a good place to end it.

HitomiFanel: I know but I promise that part 3 is longer and more exciting.

Zakyra (excited): Oh! It really is! I read it! It's great.

HitomiFanel: Thank you Zakyra. Below is a little bit of info as to what part 3 has.

I'll give you a little bit of info for the next chapter:

1) More character appearances

2) A rescue from…

3) Information

4) And a little jealousy

HitomiFanel: Please review!

Zakyra: Yeah, or else you won't get to see all that exciting part.

HitomiFanel and Zakyra: See ya in part 3!


	3. The New Kid Part 3

HitomiFanel: This chapter is dedicated to all who reviewed. I thank you all!

Zakyra: This is also the longest chapter of the story. 5 pages. Why does your story have such short chapters Hito?

HitomiFanel: Hehe, well, I'm bringing the story out in its almost original format.

Zakyra: Meaning…?

HitomiFanel: Meaning that the chapters are the same size as when I originally brought them out at escaflownefanfiction at Yahoogroups. The only difference it that I revised the story a little to make it more descriptive.

Zakyra: Oh.

HitomiFanel: Anyways, go ahead and read my favorite chapter in this series. I really liked typing it out when I first did. It has a lot of different things happening.

Zakyra: ^_^ The ending of this chapter is especially cool.

HitomiFanel: Yeah. So go ahead and read what happens.

The New Kid

Disclaimer: I don't own Escaflowne

Hitomi sat up from her bed as the sunlight shined through her window. She glanced at her clock and discovered it was only four o'clock. A time good to go to the mall.

'Good thing I didn't over sleep or else I would have missed going to the mall' Hitomi thought as she walked out of her room. She entered the living room and discovered that no one was home. The house was completely silent.

She looked around the living room until her eye caught a note on the sofa (nice place to leave a note huh?). It was from her mom. 

_Dear Hitomi,  
I know you are still napping so I left some money for you. It should be enough to be able to buy some food at the mall since you told me you were going. Don't worry about us, we decided to go to the new movie theater downtown. We should be back by eight. _

Love, mom

Hitomi found some money next to the note and bent down to pick it up. 'Thanks mom' she thought with slight annoyance. 'But 20 dollars won't be enough to buy anything.'

She head out the door and walked towards the mall, enjoying the warm day as she walked.

-----

Once she got there, she went into McDonald's and stood in line. At least she could buy something to eat.

She hadn't even been standing very long in the line when "Excuse me," someone from behind said. Hitomi turned around and gasped. Standing right in front of her was the cutest guy she had ever seen. He had long blonde hair, the bluest eyes in the world, really peachy skin, and a kind face. 'Forget Amano, this guy is really cute' Hitomi thought. "Yes?"

He looked around through the crowds and didn't once look at her. He seemed to be searching for someone. "Have you seen a young man by the name of Van around here?" He looked back at her. "I'm looking for him. He has unruly black hair and reddish-brown eyes," the blonde guy asked.

'How does he know Van?' Hitomi wondered. "I haven't seen him now. How do you know Van? He goes to my school." 

He smiled which made him even more attractive. "He's my best friend. I've known him for a little while now. You know he just moved here. He lives right next door to me." 

Hitomi frowned at that statement. 'Lucky Yukari. This guy lives pretty close to her house.' 

"What's your name?" the guy asked, changing the subject since it didn't seem Hitomi knew where Van was.

Hitomi blushed a pale pink color. "I'm Hitomi. You?" 

"My name is Allen Schezar." 

'What a perfect name' Hitomi thought dreamily with star glazed eyes. 

"Hey Allen!" they heard someone shout. Both Allen and Hitomi turned towards the voice. Hitomi didn't know who it was but Allen did. She was quite a curious little girl who looked around 12. She had shoulder length pink hair and a girlish aura around her.

"Merle. Where's Van?" Allen asked. 

"He's waiting for you at Macy's. Come on," Merle called. 

Allen turned towards Hitomi. "Well, if you'll excuse me." 

Hitomi only stood there and watched his retreating form. She had to ask Van about this guy at school tomorrow. She wanted to know more about this Allen. 

She ordered her food, excited about tomorrow.   


The next day: 

After Hitomi's run in with Allen, she desperately wanted to talk to Van and ask questions about Allen. Maybe with Van's help, Hitomi could snag a date with that cuttie. 

Hitomi spotted Van hanging out with his friends. She walked up to him. "Van, can I talk to you?" 

Van looked at her and smiled. "Sure. (turns to friends) I'll be right back." 

Van and Hitomi walked an inaudible distance from those guy's Van was hanging out with. 

"What did you want to talk to me about?" Van asked. He looked really happy to talk to her, although Hitomi didn't notice it.

Hitomi decided to be blunt. "Well, yesterday I was at the mall and I met this guy who said was your best friend. His name was Allen Schezar. I just wanted to know some stuff about him," Hitomi responded. 

As soon as Hitomi mentioned Allen, a frown grew on Van's face. He obviously didn't like the idea of talking about another guy with her. 

"Look, I don't know all that much about him myself. If you want to get to know him then you should talk to him yourself," Van responded rather coldly. 

"Why are you being so mean? I just wanted to know about him," Hitomi responded rather hotly. 

"Look, I got to go. I'll catch you later." With that, he walked off with his friends, leaving Hitomi just standing there, puzzled as to why he acted that way.

'What's his problem? Now I do have to talk to Allen or else I'll never get to know him' Hitomi thought. 

She walked to class and didn't bother to talk to Van again, just as he didn't bother to talk to her. 

Later: 

Hitomi didn't have a track meet today, so she walked home, unaware of the surprise she was going to get. 

Once Hitomi turned a corner, she saw Allen, but he wasn't alone. He was walking with a girl, both of them holding hands. 

The girl was shorter than Allen, yet taller than Hitomi. She had long blonde hair that was lighter than Allen's. She had peachy skin and purple eyes. She was really beautiful. 

Hitomi decided to find out who this girl was. "Allen!" 

She saw the both of them turn around. Allen had a smile on his face as he saw her. 

"Hitomi, how nice to see you," Allen greeted. 

The girl turned towards Allen. "Allen, who is this girl?" You could tell that she was jealous and thought that Allen was maybe seeing this girl behind her back. 

"I met her yesterday at the mall. She goes to Van's school. I was looking for Van at the mall and asked her if she knew him and if she saw where he was," Allen explained. 

The girl looked pleased now. She turned towards Hitomi. "My name is Millerna Aston. Please to meet you Hitomi-" 

Hitomi knew what she wanted. "Kanzaki." 

The girl nodded and turned towards Allen again. "Allen, we should go. My father will be worried if I get home on time." 

"You're right. See ya later Hitomi." 

They walked off, leaving Hitomi standing there. Hitomi was really sad to find out that Allen already had a girlfriend. She began to walk home, not being able to get what had happened out of her head. 

On the way, she bumped into a familiar person. 

"Hey! Watch where your going!" the girl yelled as both of them fell to the ground.

"Sorry. Aren't you Merle, that girl from yesterday?" Hitomi asked. 

"Yeah. And you must be Hitomi, the one who was talking with Allen." 

Hitomi nodded sadly at the mention of Allen. Then curiosity struck Hitomi. "How do you know Van anyway?" 

"I'm his little sister," Merle responded as she got up. Hitomi also got up. 

"You know, I heard a lot about you from Van," Merle said as she dusted herself off.

"What did he say about me?" Hitomi wondered. 

Merle paused for a moment before she answered. "He only said that you were a girl who went to school with him." 

"Umm, can I ask you a question?" Hitomi asked, rather shyly. 'It this is Van's little sister, than she might know Allen.' 

"What about?" 

"Do you know Allen well? I asked Van about him but he didn't want to tell me anything. He said he didn't know all that much." 

"Yeah, I do know him and Van's a liar. He talked all day with Allen yesterday, asking him questions." 

"The why didn't he want to tell me anything?" 

Merle shrugged. "I don't know. I guess he just didn't." 

Hitomi got hopeful glints in her eyes. "Well anyways, could you tell me what you know about him?" 

Merle smiled a mischievous smile. "Only if you buy me ice cream." 

Hitomi smiled and nodded. Merle shouted in excitement and they walked to the ice cream parlor. 

Once there, they sat on some stools and ordered. Hitomi asked for a chocolate single while Merle took advantage of the situation and ordered a hot fudge sundae with everything. Hitomi sighed in amused annoyance. 

"So, what do you know about Allen?" Hitomi asked as they finished ordering. 

"Well, from what Allen told me, he's a student at the local college. He's studying to be a police officer I think. He lives next door to us and he has a girlfriend named Millerna Aston who goes to college with him," Merle responded. (note: When I wrote this story, I thought that Millerna was 18 or so, so I put it that she went to college with Allen. Later, someone told me that she was actually 15. She doesn't look 15 and I doubt that she is. I haven't visited any Escaflowne info websites in a while so I forgot how old she ACTUALLY is.)

She felt the tears threatening to come out at the mention of that fact. She wiped the away while Merle wasn't looking. 

"Is that all you know?" Hitomi asked. 

"No. He also told us that both his parents died in a car accident a couple of years back so he's living off money that his grandparents send him all the time. Allen comes from quite a rich family. The last thing I know is that he has a sister who lives with him. She goes to a private High school so I don't think you know her. Her name is Celena Schezar and she's 15 like you." (Note: There's still that debate going on, on how Allen's sister spells her name: Serena, Cerena, or Celena. :))

"Wow, I didn't know he was a rich guy?" 

Merle nodded as their orders came. "His father used to own some kind of big company that now belongs to his grandparents. When his grandparents die, the company will finally belong to him." Merle took a big bite of her sundae. 

Hitomi licked her chocolate single as she listened. 

"What about Van?" Merle asked out of the blue. 

"What ABOUT Van?" Hitomi asked, wondering why Merle mentioned him. 

"Don't you want to know about him?" 

"I don't see the reason for me to want to know Van. Unless there's something I should know." 

Merle suddenly freaked out and waved both of her hands in front of her. "Oh no. I was just wondering if maybe you wanted to get to know him." 

Hitomi shook her head. They decided to get to know each other instead. Hitomi learned though that Van had yet another sibling named Folken who lived back in Hokkaido. He was living on his own and had his life over there so he would only come for holiday visits. 

Once they were done, Merle thanked her for the sundae and left to hang out with her friends. Hitomi also had to go home since she had homework to do. 

As she turned a corner, she heard someone whistle to her in that perverted way (Note: later I discovered that it's called a catcall. You learn something new everyday :)). She decided to ignore that person and she continued to walk. She could hear footsteps behind her. 

Hitomi walked faster but her pursuer caught up with her. "Where do you think you're going cutty?" he asked in a rough voice as he held onto her hand. He was tall, maybe 6'2" with no hair. He looked around 25 and he was dressed in poor clothes. He was sorta buff and he had black eyes and brown skin. 

"Let me go!" Hitomi shouted as she tried to struggle and wiggle her arm free from his grasp. "HELP ME!!!!" she screamed out. Sadly, she realized that no one would probably hear her in that part of town. She decided to scream for help anyways. 

The guy smacked her across the face to shut her up but that only caused Hitomi to cry. 

Her eyes were closed so she only heard a punch sound that didn't hit her, but someone else. Her eyes full of tears, she opened them and discovered the guy on the floor, unconscious. Hitomi looked at who had saved her and gasped. 

"Van!" she yelled. 

Concern was all over his face but he managed to smile, showing relief. "Hitomi, thank God you're okay. I heard your yelling and ran here as fast as I could." 

Hitomi looked at his hands and saw a huge piece of wood (the kind you use to build). It was broken in half. 

Van chuckled nervously. "I was going to use it to build something but I decided to use it to knock the crap out of that guy." 

Hitomi began to cry as she sat there. Van kneeled in front of her and Hitomi cried on him instead. 

"Come on, let's get you home," Van said in a comforting voice. 

Hitomi nodded and got up. They walked to her home. 

To be continued…

HitomiFanel: Yeah! Part 3 is now done! I love this part for some reason!

Zakyra: It's a cool part.

HitomiFanel: I hope people weren't disappointed in what happened. I wrote at the end of part 2 that certain things were going to happen but I'm not sure if it turned out the way people wanted it to.

Zakyra: I doubt people are thinking that. Have faith in what you write. You aren't supposed to be writing to get reviews anyway.

HitomiFanel: I'm not! I'm writing because I love it and because I want everyone to enjoy my story. I want to share it with everyone.

Zakyra: That's good.

HitomiFanel: Well, please review! I want to know if you liked this part as much as I do.

Zakyra: Yeah. Besides, sending in your comments will help to get the next chapters out sooner. She at least wants the reviews so she knows that people are reading this story.

HitomiFanel: Yup, why write a story if no one reads it and enjoys it? I also want to say right now that a couple of chapters later, there will be cliffhangers that will last until the end of the series.

Zakyra: Uh oh. People don't really like cliffhangers.

HitomiFanel: Yeah but they make the story more exciting. Besides, it's not like they're going to wait a long time before the next chapter comes out. As I've said before, I have the whole story done. Each chapter just needs a little bit of revising and I'm already working on the next few chapters so I can have the chapters sent out in days apart at most.

Zakyra: Yeah! That means that you send one part one day and one part the next.

HitomiFanel: Exactly.

HitomiFanel and Zakyra: PLEASE REVIEW, BEGGING FOR THE NEXT PART!!! ^_^(HF) ^_~(Z)


	4. The New Kid Part 4

HitomiFanel: I finally found the part where the cliffhangers start.

Zakyra: Why are you telling people now?

HitomiFanel - -' Fine. I won't tell when they start. It'll just be a surprise. I won't even say anything when part mffmffmffmf (Zakyra puts her hand over Hitomi's mouth)

Zakyra: Don't tell. It'll ruin the surprise. Geez…

HitomiFanel: Cfn wu pwease dake yur han uff my mouf

Zakyra (taking her hand back): ^_^' Hehe, sorry Hito, but you can't tell.

HitomiFanel: Alright. I won't tell. Go ahead and read the story. Oh! And thank you to all who reviewed.

The New Kid

Disclaimer: I don't own Escaflowne

Van took Hitomi home and neither of them spoke a word on the way. No words were needed. 

Hitomi opened the door and Van followed her in. The house sounded quiet and the lights were off.

"Well it doesn't seem like anyone's home right now which is good. I don't really feel like explaining anything," Hitomi remarked as she sat down on the couch, slumping her arms at her sides and letting her head bow down a bit.

Van's eyes widened and he went over to sit next to her, although not that close since it was a little embarrassing. "Not telling them? You're going to keep this a secret?"

Hitomi turned to look at him, not really believing what he was saying. "Of course. Why should I tell them that someone tried to...." But she didn't finish because it was too horrible to imagine.

Van put a reassuring arm around her and she leaned on him thankfully. That caused Van to blush but he didn't pull away. He was already getting in deep with her…

After a while, she sat up again and sighed lightly. She turned around to look at Van as he stared at her, wondering what happened next. A smile touched her lips, although it wasn't anything big because she didn't feel much like smiling. It was just as a 'thank you'. "Thank you Van, for saving me from that creep." 

Van blushed as he looked away. "It was no problem." He got up and headed to the door. "I need to go. I'll see ya later. My parents are probably worried about me." 

Hitomi smiled and walked up to him. "Thanks again." She stood on her tiptoes and gave him a quick kiss on his cheek. 

Van blushed and walked out the door.   


After everything that happened today, Hitomi decided to take a nap before dinner. After all that had happened, she felt like she deserved it. However, she was confused. Mostly about Van. How is it that he's cold with her one minute, and nice the next? Sometimes she thinks he's the devil, how he acts mean and even when he gave her the cold shoulder yesterday. Then she thinks he's an angel, how he saved her, how he smiled at her yesterday when she went up to talk to him. She sighed and fell to sleep.

----

Once she woke up, she headed downstairs where her parent's were. 

Her mom was serving dinner and her dad was reading the paper. Her brother, meanwhile, was already eating.

"Hitomi, dinner is ready," her mom announced. 

Hitomi sat at the table next to her dad, across from her brother. (Note: Does anybody know the names of Hitomi's family? What is her brother's name? Her mom's and her dad's? If anybody knows then please tell me so I can use their names. Thanks!) (Note 2: That note was from the first time I wrote this. However, I still do want to know the names of Hitomi's family, although I think her brother's name is Mamoru)

"Hitomi, I need to talk to you," her dad announced while still looking at the paper. Hitomi hated it when he did that. She liked to be looked at when someone was talking to her. "What about dad?" 

He put down the paper to be able to stare at her eye to eye. He didn't looked pleased about something. "Van called and told me about what happened. He said someone attacked you today." 

Hitomi's eyes bulged as she gasped silently. 'I can't believe Van! He told my parents! I told him not to tell them!' Hitomi thought with anger. "Yeah. I told Van not to tell you guys." 

Her dad gave her this 'I can't believe you' look. "It's actually a good thing that he did Hitomi. Do you know what could have happened to you if Van wouldn't have been there? You could have been hurt, or even worse, you could have been dead." 

"I know but-" 

"But nothing. From now on Van will accompany you home from school. I already asked him and he agreed. And if you don't come home from school with him then I'll have to ground you for a long time." 

Hitomi rose from her seat. "But that isn't fair!" 

Now her mom spoke. She sat d own next to her husband. "Hitomi, we're only doing what's right for you. We don't want you to get hurt. It's best if Van DOES go home with you. You'll be safer that way." 

Hitomi couldn't believe she was hearing this. She ran up to her room, and slammed the door behind her. She needed some time to think.

The next morning: 

Hitomi left the house to go to school. Last night, before going to bed, her dad had also announced that Van would accompany her to school as well. She decided to leave before he got there. 

As she left the house, she gasped. Outside the gate of her house was Van, a big smile on his face as he leaned on the wall of the gate, his arms crossed over his chest. "Ready to go?" he asked. 

Hitomi frowned at him and began walking. She chose not to answer him. 

He caught up with her and walked beside her. "Look, I'm sorry I told your parents but I had to. They had to know what happened." 

Hitomi looked at him, still frowning. "You don't need to apologize. I'm not going to accept it anyway." 

Van noticed the cold tone in her voice and frowned at her as well. He began walking faster, leaving her behind. "Fine, go to school by yourself for all I care. Be attacked by another guy." 

Hitomi gasped at his remark as she stopped walking. Her not accepting his apology was one thing, but him telling her that was another. He might as well tell her that he'd be glad if someone would come up to her and kill her. She just stood there, a sad look on her face. 

Van, sensing she stopped, stopped as well and turned to look at her. He looked sorry for what he said. He walked up to her and held her. "I'm sorry for saying that." His voice was so soft and sincere that Hitomi hugged him back, although a little reluctantly. 

After a while, she pulled away. She felt a great emptiness as she left Van's arms. She didn't know why though. 

Van only looked at her, waiting for her to say something. 

"I'm sorry for what I said," Van spoke instead in his soft voice." It's just that you made me mad." 

Hitomi tried to smile. It came out weak. "It's okay. I guess I should have told my parents anyway. It's not good to keep these kinds of secrets. I hope we can be friends Van. I'm sorry for being so mean." 

Van smiled. "Sure. We can be friends, and I accept your apology." 

They both smiled at each other and continued walking to school. 

To be continued…

HitomiFanel: Alright! Part 4 now done! I hope you all liked it!

Zakyra: I'm glad Van and Hitomi are on good terms now.

HitomiFanel: Sorry to disappoint you Zakyra but it won't last. Believe me.

Zakyra (shocked): What?!

HitomiFanel: Yeah, I'm introducing a new character named Jack Roberts who will play a small/large role.

Zakyra: Hey, he either plays a small or he plays a large role.

HitomiFanel: Well, actually while he doesn't make too many appearances, but he's still responsible for a nice something that will happen a few parts from now.

Zakyra (excited): Ohhh, how cool! I can't wait to see what!

HitomiFanel: Yeah, well, like always to find out people have to…

HitomiFanel and Zakyra: REVIEW PLEASE!!! ^_^ V (HF) ^_~(Z)


	5. The New Kid Part 5

HitomiFanel: Yeah! Part 5 now out!

Zakyra: And getting closer to those cliffhangers!

HitomiFanel: Zakyra - -' you aren't supposed to tell yet.

Zakyra: ^_^' Whoops. Sorry. But at least I didn't say WHEN they come.

HitomiFanel: Yeah. Well, anyways, I present to you part 5 and I hope you all like it.

Zakyra: Please review in the end when you're done reading.

The New Kid

Disclaimer: I don't own Escaflowne but I do own Jack Roberts (my own creation who is making his debut in this chapter).   


Once Hitomi and Van reached school, they parted towards their own classes. Hitomi was heading for class when Yukari walked up to her. She had the biggest smile on her face, as if she were hiding some sort of secret. "Hey Hitomi! You'll never guess what I heard!" 

"What?" Hitomi asked, kinda panicky. She hoped that Yukari didn't know about what happened with that jerk yesterday. 

Yukari bounced in the air with excitement. "You're nominated for queen of the dance! If you win, you'll be the queen at the dance that's coming up!" Yukari blurted out. 

Hitomi gasped. Someone actually nominated her for being queen? Never would she have imagined that. She figured it was Yukari who had nominated her. 

"You're the one who nominated me aren't you?" Hitomi asked suspiciously. 

Yukari looked like Hitomi had asked her if she broke the vase. "No. Dui told me that she nominated you." Her face immediately perked up. "Isn't Dui the best? And guess what? Van was nominated for king! If he wins then at the dance, you get to sit next to him on the throne! Every girl is so jealous of you," Yukari rambled. 

"Great," Hitomi said, annoyed. 

Yukari looked at her wondering what was wrong. "Hitomi? You don't really sound thrilled." 

Hitomi stated the obvious. "Well how can you be thrilled to be nominated to be a couple with someone you can't stand?" 

Yukari looked at Hitomi with unbelieving eyes. "Hitomi. I can't believe I'm hearing this. You're the luckiest girl in the world to be nominated to be queen. You should be happy." 

Hitomi frowned. "I'm not. I can't stand Van. He bugs me. Did you know that I already have to walk to school with him? My parents are making me." 

"Why?" 

Hitomi went wide eyed. She had blabbed it out! Luckily, she heard the bell rang and decided to use it as an excuse not to answer." Well, there's the bell. I'll talk to you later Yukari." 

"Hitomi! Wait!" 

Hitomi didn't stop. She continued walking to class. 

----

In class she couldn't stop thinking about what Yukari said. 'I'm nominated for queen?' She frowned as she remembered something else. 'I can't believe Van is nominated for king! I bet that after school he'll tell me and mock me or laugh in my face about it.' 

She jumped when the teacher smacked her ruler on Hitomi's desk. "If Miss Kanzaki would grace us with the answer for number 2 instead of daydreaming, we would probably be able to continue with class." She was one of those bothersome teachers who loved to point out your mistakes when you made them. (A/N: I have one of those teachers. Mrs. Gautney, and old chemistry teacher at the high school who I can't stand! She's mean to everyone! Poor me!)

Hitomi blushed. "Y=2" she answered. 

Everyone burst out laughing and Hitomi wondered why. When she saw the words on the board, she blushed. She had just used the answer for her algebra class instead of her english class. 

"Well, I hardly see how the poem we're studying has anything to do with math," Hitomi's female teacher mocked. 

The class broke up into laughter again. Hitomi was steamed. She glanced around the room and saw a cute boy who wasn't laughing. Instead, he was smiling. It wasn't a mocking smile. It was more of a ' I like you' smile. Hitomi blushed and turned away. 

Once class was over, she was walking to where she met Yukari everyday when someone called her by her last name. 

She turned around and discovered that the same boy who was smiling at her had called her. He had nice, shiny brown hair that fell into his forehead, and beautiful amethyst eyes. When he smiled, his whole face lit up. He especially had dimples, which he didn't hide. "Hey. I wanted to thank you for when you said the wrong answer on purpose so that I didn't look dumb. I said the wrong answer also and you said a wrong answer to redirect the laughing towards you." 

Hitomi didn't understand what he was saying. "Sorry. You got me all wrong. I didn't say the wrong answer so you wouldn't look bad. I was thinking. I wasn't paying attention to anything the teacher had to say." 

The boy looked disappointed. "Well, anyways, I was also wondering if you wanted to go catch a movie or something. Sorry, I didn't introduce myself yet. My name is Jack Roberts." 

Hitomi was shocked. She didn't know how to respond. She decided to respond when she saw Van walking towards them. 

"Yeah. I'll go see a movie with you. Here's my phone number...." she said as she wrote it down and handed it to him. "Oh, and my first name is Hitomi." 

Jack smiled at her. He tucked the piece of paper away. "Thanks. I'll call you later." He turned and left. 

Hitomi smiled and looked towards Van. He gave her a mean look and walked away. 'He looks jealous. But why would he be jealous? I didn't accept to go with Jack to make him jealous.' She shrugged the thought aside and walked to meet with Yukari. (Note: Okay, I realize that that paragraph sucked and didn't really make any sense. Why do what she did when she wasn't trying to make him jealous? HELLO! Obviously if she's going to accept an invite from a boy when she sees another boy coming, it's to make him jealous. Man…I was dumb when I wrote that…)  


----

After school, Hitomi waited for Van near the track. She didn't have practice but she had to be taken home by him. She really hated this deal with her father. Hitomi knew that she was grown enough to walk home by herself. Although remembering what almost happened yesterday made her rethink that statement.

Finally, she saw Van walk up. He wasn't smiling like he always was. Instead, he had this really mean frown on his face. Hitomi couldn't quite understand why he had that frown. 

"Hey Van," she greeted, trying to sound friendly." I heard you were nominated to be the king at the dance." 

They began walking but Van didn't try any conversation. He didn't even respond to her comment on the dance. He just walked, totally ignoring her and being in his own world, though it looked like a sad one.

Hitomi was getting tired of this. "Ok Van, I want to know what's bugging you. Ever since you saw me talking with Jack you've been this mean, quiet person and I want to know why." 

Van didn't answer her. He only looked straight ahead. Hitomi looked more closely at his face and saw that he was sad. 

'When I mentioned Jack his face immediately turned sad. What could be wrong?' Hitomi wondered (dense…just like in the show…). She decided not to strike up any new conversation. If he didn't want to talk then she could respect that. 

They continued to walk in silence. 

Once they reached Hitomi's house, Van left without ev 


	6. The New Kid Part 5

HitomiFanel: Yeah! Part 5 now out!

Zakyra: And getting closer to those cliffhangers!

HitomiFanel: Zakyra - -' you aren't supposed to tell yet.

Zakyra: ^_^' Whoops. Sorry. But at least I didn't say WHEN they come.

HitomiFanel: Yeah. Well, anyways, I present to you part 5 and I hope you all like it.

Zakyra: Please review in the end when you're done reading.

The New Kid

Disclaimer: I don't own Escaflowne but I do own Jack Roberts (my own creation who is making his debut in this chapter).   


Once Hitomi and Van reached school, they parted towards their own classes. Hitomi was heading for class when Yukari walked up to her. She had the biggest smile on her face, as if she were hiding some sort of secret. "Hey Hitomi! You'll never guess what I heard!" 

"What?" Hitomi asked, kinda panicky. She hoped that Yukari didn't know about what happened with that jerk yesterday. 

Yukari bounced in the air with excitement. "You're nominated for queen of the dance! If you win, you'll be the queen at the dance that's coming up!" Yukari blurted out. 

Hitomi gasped. Someone actually nominated her for being queen? Never would she have imagined that. She figured it was Yukari who had nominated her. 

"You're the one who nominated me aren't you?" Hitomi asked suspiciously. 

Yukari looked like Hitomi had asked her if she broke the vase. "No. Dui told me that she nominated you." Her face immediately perked up. "Isn't Dui the best? And guess what? Van was nominated for king! If he wins then at the dance, you get to sit next to him on the throne! Every girl is so jealous of you," Yukari rambled. 

"Great," Hitomi said, annoyed. 

Yukari looked at her wondering what was wrong. "Hitomi? You don't really sound thrilled." 

Hitomi stated the obvious. "Well how can you be thrilled to be nominated to be a couple with someone you can't stand?" 

Yukari looked at Hitomi with unbelieving eyes. "Hitomi. I can't believe I'm hearing this. You're the luckiest girl in the world to be nominated to be queen. You should be happy." 

Hitomi frowned. "I'm not. I can't stand Van. He bugs me. Did you know that I already have to walk to school with him? My parents are making me." 

"Why?" 

Hitomi went wide eyed. She had blabbed it out! Luckily, she heard the bell rang and decided to use it as an excuse not to answer." Well, there's the bell. I'll talk to you later Yukari." 

"Hitomi! Wait!" 

Hitomi didn't stop. She continued walking to class. 

----

In class she couldn't stop thinking about what Yukari said. 'I'm nominated for queen?' She frowned as she remembered something else. 'I can't believe Van is nominated for king! I bet that after school he'll tell me and mock me or laugh in my face about it.' 

She jumped when the teacher smacked her ruler on Hitomi's desk. "If Miss Kanzaki would grace us with the answer for number 2 instead of daydreaming, we would probably be able to continue with class." She was one of those bothersome teachers who loved to point out your mistakes when you made them. (A/N: I have one of those teachers. Mrs. Gautney, and old chemistry teacher at the high school who I can't stand! She's mean to everyone! Poor me!)

Hitomi blushed. "Y=2" she answered. 

Everyone burst out laughing and Hitomi wondered why. When she saw the words on the board, she blushed. She had just used the answer for her algebra class instead of her english class. 

"Well, I hardly see how the poem we're studying has anything to do with math," Hitomi's female teacher mocked. 

The class broke up into laughter again. Hitomi was steamed. She glanced around the room and saw a cute boy who wasn't laughing. Instead, he was smiling. It wasn't a mocking smile. It was more of a ' I like you' smile. Hitomi blushed and turned away. 

Once class was over, she was walking to where she met Yukari everyday when someone called her by her last name. 

She turned around and discovered that the same boy who was smiling at her had called her. He had nice, shiny brown hair that fell into his forehead, and beautiful amethyst eyes. When he smiled, his whole face lit up. He especially had dimples, which he didn't hide. "Hey. I wanted to thank you for when you said the wrong answer on purpose so that I didn't look dumb. I said the wrong answer also and you said a wrong answer to redirect the laughing towards you." 

Hitomi didn't understand what he was saying. "Sorry. You got me all wrong. I didn't say the wrong answer so you wouldn't look bad. I was thinking. I wasn't paying attention to anything the teacher had to say." 

The boy looked disappointed. "Well, anyways, I was also wondering if you wanted to go catch a movie or something. Sorry, I didn't introduce myself yet. My name is Jack Roberts." 

Hitomi was shocked. She didn't know how to respond. She decided to respond when she saw Van walking towards them. 

"Yeah. I'll go see a movie with you. Here's my phone number...." she said as she wrote it down and handed it to him. "Oh, and my first name is Hitomi." 

Jack smiled at her. He tucked the piece of paper away. "Thanks. I'll call you later." He turned and left. 

Hitomi smiled and looked towards Van. He gave her a mean look and walked away. 'He looks jealous. But why would he be jealous? I didn't accept to go with Jack to make him jealous.' She shrugged the thought aside and walked to meet with Yukari. (Note: Okay, I realize that that paragraph sucked and didn't really make any sense. Why do what she did when she wasn't trying to make him jealous? HELLO! Obviously if she's going to accept an invite from a boy when she sees another boy coming, it's to make him jealous. Man…I was dumb when I wrote that…)  


----

After school, Hitomi waited for Van near the track. She didn't have practice but she had to be taken home by him. She really hated this deal with her father. Hitomi knew that she was grown enough to walk home by herself. Although remembering what almost happened yesterday made her rethink that statement.

Finally, she saw Van walk up. He wasn't smiling like he always was. Instead, he had this really mean frown on his face. Hitomi couldn't quite understand why he had that frown. 

"Hey Van," she greeted, trying to sound friendly." I heard you were nominated to be the king at the dance." 

They began walking but Van didn't try any conversation. He didn't even respond to her comment on the dance. He just walked, totally ignoring her and being in his own world, though it looked like a sad one.

Hitomi was getting tired of this. "Ok Van, I want to know what's bugging you. Ever since you saw me talking with Jack you've been this mean, quiet person and I want to know why." 

Van didn't answer her. He only looked straight ahead. Hitomi looked more closely at his face and saw that he was sad. 

'When I mentioned Jack his face immediately turned sad. What could be wrong?' Hitomi wondered (dense…just like in the show…). She decided not to strike up any new conversation. If he didn't want to talk then she could respect that. 

They continued to walk in silence. 

Once they reached Hitomi's house, Van left without even a small goodbye. As he left, Hitomi frowned at his retreating form and went inside her house. 

"I'm home!" she called out. 

"Oh Hitomi, I'm glad you're home," her mom called from the kitchen. "Someone named Jack Roberts called you. He said if you could please call him back," her mother informed her as she appeared in the living room. She walked over to Hitomi and handed her a piece of paper with a phone number written on it. "He left his phone number." 

"Yeah, thanks mom." Hitomi climbed the stairs and headed for her room. She grabbed the phone and dialed Jack's number. 

It rang for only a second. "Hello?" a female voice said from the other line. 

"Is Jack there?" Hitomi asked. She plopped herself down on the bed and laid down. 

"Yeah, hold on. Jack! Someone's on the phone for you!" 

Hitomi heard someone walk up and say thanks. "Hello?" 

Hitomi knew it was Jack. "Hi Jack. It's Hitomi. My mom told me you called." 

"Yeah, I wanted to tell you about the date. Where we could meet." 

"Okay." 

"Well, I was wondering if you wanted to see "Meet the parents" this Saturday at 4." 

"Sure. I'll meet you there." 

"Okay. See you then Hitomi." 

"Bye." Hitomi put the receiver down and walked out of her room. 

As she descended the stairs, she smelled lasagna, her favorite food. But Hitomi was also wondering why her mom was making so much of it. She saw two trays of it on the big dining room table. When her mom put food in the dining room it was usually because people were coming over. 

"Why so much mom?" Hitomi asked. 

Her mom set some glasses on the table. "I want you to change into something nicer. Mr. Fanel and his family are coming over for dinner." She walked back into the kitchen and came out with more glasses. "And I want you to be polite to Van. I know the two of you have not been on the best of terms." 

Hitomi gasped. Van would be coming? Well, that wasn't the best of news. Hitomi groaned and slowly climbed the stairs. 

To be continued…

HitomiFanel: Yay! Part 5 done!

Zakyra: Poor Van. It kind of reminds me of episode 19 and 20 when he saw her with Allen. (Breaks down and cries)

HitomiFanel (to audience): She's been watching my Escaflowne tapes too much. Especially the one with episodes 18-20. (To Zakyra) Don't worry. This won't last. I should know.

Zakyra: Really?

HitomiFanel: Yeah. I've got something shocking that's going to happen to Hitomi, making her seek comfort in someone else *wink, wink*

Zakyra: Yay!

HitomiFanel: Alright everyone! You know the drill!

HitomiFanel and Zakyra: PLEASE REVIEW!!! ^_^ V (HF) ^_~ (Z)


	7. The New Kid Part 6

HitomiFanel: I want to thank everyone who reviewed!

Zakyra: Hey Hito, aren't you going to tell them something you told me?

HitomiFanel: Oh! Right. A quick note to all those who are reading my Amnesia story and my 'A Walk in the Clouds' fic. I'm going to take a break from it since I'm so in trouble right now.

Zakyra: She's writing so many fics at the same time!

HitomiFanel: Hehe, okay, so I'm a procrastinator. So sue me (well, not LITTERALLY ^_^')

Zakyra: She's busy writing 2 Digimon fics, an Escaflowne fic that she's sending to a friend through e-mail, a Hey Arnold fic that's 30 episodes AT LEAST, two more Escaflowne fics that she won't send out till they're done, plus Amnesia and A Walk in the Clouds!

HitomiFanel (blushing): Geez Zakyra, you didn't have to tell them all of THAT. Besides, I know I can finish the two Digimon fics quickly and the Escaflowne one I'm sending through e-mail. Then I can get back to Amnesia and "A Walk in the Clouds" WHILE writing my Hey Arnold fic.

Zakyra (doubtful): Sure. Anyways, go ahead and read this. Hope you enjoy it! Meanwhile, Hito will go off to write her other fics for everyone.

The New Kid

Disclaimer: I don't own Escaflowne 

Hitomi had finished getting ready for the dinner and was now looking herself over in the mirror. She didn't know why she had to dress up, even though it was dinner with the Fanel's, she still didn't see any reason to dress up for them. Why couldn't they just have a _casual_ dinner? She sighed as she put the finishing touches on her dress. She wore for tonight a short green dress that matched her eyes and green eye shadow to go with it. She wore lip-gloss and powder on her face. Her shoes were green strapies that went with everything. 

"Hitomi! Come down now! The Fanel's should be here any minute now! I want you stand in front of the door with us when they come!" Her mom yelled from downstairs. 

Hitomi sighed and descended the stairs. Why did she have to do this? She saw her mom gasp at her, making Hitomi blush. 

"Hitomi, you look very nice. I hope Van likes it," her mom commented with a mischievous smile. 

"Mom!" Hitomi yelled blushing badly. 

Mrs. Kanzaki only laughed and prepared herself to tease Hitomi a bit more, but then the doorbell rang, announcing the arrival of the Fanel's. 

"Okay everyone, stand in front of the door," her mom instructed. Hitomi, along with her dad and brother, went to stand in front of the door. 

Mrs. Kanzaki opened the door, which revealed Van's parents, Van (who wasn't even smiling but still looked good in his tux), his sister Merle, and someone else Hitomi didn't know. He was tall, with spiked silvery hair and reddish eyes that were twinkling. Hitomi figured it was Van's older brother Folken. 

"Please come in," Mrs. Kanzaki instructed. 

"Thank you for having us," Mrs. Fanel said as she went through the door. 

"Hey Gouo (his name is either spelled like that or Goau. I haven't checked out an information Escaflowne website in a while)! Glad you could make it!" Hitomi's dad yelled as he shook hands with Van's dad. 

"Yeah," Gouo responded, smiling professionally, yet still like a friend. He turned towards the one no one knew. "This is my other son, Folken. You remember when I told you about him don't you?" 

"Of course! You're the one who lives back in Hokkaido aren't you?" 

"Yes sir," Folken said as he bowed in front of Hitomi's dad. 

"Well, let's all go to the dining room. I have lasagna that I hope you like," Mrs. Kanzaki interrupted. 

"Oh I bet anything you make is good," Van's mom commented as she cupped her hands in front of her dreamily. Mrs. Kanzaki blushed. 

They all went to the dining room. All went except two. 

Van stayed behind, as did Hitomi. Hitomi wanted to know why he was so cross in the afternoon. 

"So, has that Jack called you?" Van asked. He looked like he had regretted mentioning Jack. His face went from unsmiling to sad.

"Yeah. He just called a couple of hours ago," Hitomi answered. For some reason she didn't want to talk about her future date with Jack. She didn't feel all that comfortable talking about it. 

"Hey you two, come on and eat before it finishes," Mrs. Kanzaki called from the dining room. She wondered what those two were doing or talking about. She had a little feeling of what it could be and decided to talk to Van about it later. 

Hitomi and Van did as told and joined everyone in the dining room. 

During dinner, Van kept sneaking glances at Hitomi (who never caught him). Sometimes, Mrs. Kanzaki would take a pause from her eating and saw Van staring at Hitomi. Van would notice and turn away, blushing. That caused Mrs. Kanzaki to giggle to herself. 

Once dinner was over, Mrs. Kanzaki offered tea and cookies to them. Only Mrs. Fanel and Merle accepted the offer. Mr. Kanzaki and Mr. Fanel decided to talk about politics and smoke some nice Cuban cigars. 

Mamoru (Hitomi's brother) asked Folken if he wanted to see his PlayStation games. Folken slightly laughed and accepted. That left Van and Hitomi alone in the living room. 

Things were pretty awkward at first. None of them had anything to say. Finally, something occurred to Hitomi. 

"So, are you excited about being nominated king for the dance?" Hitomi asked, trying to make conversation. 

Van made a snort noise. "I'm not that excited about it. I heard that you were nominated queen. I don't think I would want to be paired up with you at the dance. The king and queen _have_ to have a spotlight dance." 

Hitomi got up from the couch rather mad. "What an idiot of me to try and make conversation with you! You are the rudest person I have ever met!" 

She was about to leave to go cry in her room when Van stopped her. He grabbed her arm and held her back.

"Look, I'm sorry for what I said. I didn't mean it. I've had a bad day." (We all know the cause of it, right? ^_~)

Hitomi turned around, showing to Van that she was indeed going to cry. That made Van feel bad. He hadn't intended to make Hitomi cry. Meanwhile, Hitomi was thinking something that had occurred to her. Everytime Van was mean to her like that, tears would build up in her eyes. She didn't know why he had that effect on her. 

Van then pulled Hitomi in to his arms without hesitation, making Hitomi gasp. Van didn't notice the gasp. 

"Hey you two, get a room!" Mamoru called from the top of the stairs with a smile. 

Van and Hitomi pulled away, both blushing. 

Later, when dinner was over and the hours past, the Fanel's left. For the rest of the night, Hitomi had avoided Van and instead went to talk about Merle. Van went to hang out with Mamoru and Folken, playing games. While Hitomi talked with Merle, Hitomi noticed that she seemed to be hinting at something. She would always be trying to talk about Van and even point to him when he passed (though he didn't notice). Hitomi figured she wanted them to be on friendlier terms, though Hitomi never got the ACTUAL assumption. Hitomi went to her room when it was all over and wondered about the event that took place before she began to ignore Van. 

'Why did Van hug me? I don't think it was only to comfort me.' Hitomi thought as she climbed into bed. She shrugged thinking about it and decided to go to sleep. She was too sleepy to think about it.   


----

Hitomi woke up the next morning and remembered that it was Saturday. She had suddenly forgotten because of a dream she had last night. 

* Flashback of dream* 

"Where am I?" Hitomi wondered. She was standing in front of a theater. It only took her a second to realize that it was the same one that Jack Roberts had invited her to. 

Hitomi walked around and discovered Jack. Something else she noticed was that he wasn't alone. Right there, in front of everybody, Jack was in a passionate kiss with another girl. Hitomi didn't know the girl but it was enough to make her cry. 

Hitomi ran from that spot and eventually bumped into someone. "I'm so sorry sir," Hitomi apologized, wiping her tears. 

"What's wrong Hitomi?" a familiar voice asked. 

Hitomi looked up at the keeper of the voice and discovered that it was Van. He looked so sweet, standing there in his regular school clothes, a worried look on his face. 

Hitomi immediately ran into his arms for comfort. She hugged him and cried. 

Van, rather surprised, asked again what was wrong. But instead of waiting for an answer, he simply pulled her away softly and leaned closer to her for a soft kiss. 

Hitomi didn't object to the kiss as she too leaned in closer......   


* End dream* 

That was when Hitomi woke up. She didn't understand why she had such a dream. The kiss especially was something to question. 

She decided to worry about it later as she heard her mom calling her from downstairs. Hitomi got out of bed and descended the stairs. 

"Hitomi, isn't today your date with that boy?" Mrs. Kanzaki asked her daughter as Hitomi entered the kitchen. 

Hitomi walked over to the table and sat down. "Yeah, why?" 

Her mom walked over to the table and set a plate of eggs and rice down. "Just curious." 

Hitomi frowned. 'Why did my mom want to know?' She decided to ignore the idea and just eat breakfast. She had to hurry and make it to the mall in order to buy a new outfit for her date. 

"Mom, I'm going to the mall! I'll be back really quick!" Hitomi called from the door after she had finished her breakfast and changed out of her PJ's. 

"Take your time!" her mom called back. She had other plans today…(remember when she said she needed to talk to Van? *wink, wink* ^_~ What do you think they'll talk about?)

Hitomi walked out the door and enjoyed the feel of the warm sun on her face. Today was an especially beautiful day. 

"Hitomi!" she heard someone call. 

Hitomi turned around and discovered that Yukari was the one that called her. 

To be continued…

HitomiFanel: Part 6 done! Yay!

Zakyra: Ooh, I feel like something is going to happen soon ^_~

HitomiFanel: You bet Zakyra. The story gets REALLY interesting on part 7 and beyond.

Zakyra: I can't wait to see what happens!

HitomiFanel: Well, I hope you all liked this part and sorry for the way it ended. That was a weird way to end it.

Zakyra: No kidding :)

HitomiFanel: Well, you all know the drill…

HitomiFanel and Zakyra: PLEASE REVIEW!!! ^_^ V (HF) and ^_~ (Z)


	8. The New Kid Part 7

HitomiFanel: Hehe, there's a reason this chapter is so short ^_~

Zakyra: Yeah, we won't say ANYTHING though. Just read to see what happens ^_~ V

The New Kid

Disclaimer: I don't own Escaflowne but I do own Jack Roberts   


"Hey Yukari," Hitomi greeted. Now that Yukari was here, perhaps she could help Hitomi pick something out for the date. It would really help to have her best friend with her, especially after what happened with Van yesterday.

Yukari reached her and bent over, tired from running. "Where are you going?" she asked, curious.

Hitomi pointed and said, "I'm just heading over to the mall to pick something new outfit for my date with Jack." 

Yukari was shocked. She hadn't expected this. Why hadn't Hitomi told her? "You're going out with someone? Why didn't you tell me?" 

"I guess I just forgot," Hitomi shrugged her shoulders as she began to walk. She heard Yukari trying to catch up with her. 

"This is the sort of thing that you don't just forget," Yukari commented rather mad that Hitomi didn't share this piece of information with her. Her voice softened. She knew she couldn't stay mad at Hitomi. "So, what's this Jack like?" 

Hitomi opened her mouth to answer but closed it. As they went around one corner, she opened it again even wider than before. She gasped and stopped walking. Her sudden change in look was that right there in front of the theater that Jack had invited her to, was Jack. Only that he wasn't alone. He had his arm around the shoulders of another girl. Hitomi watched as Jack leaned down and gave the girl a passionate kiss on her lips. 

'So the dream was right huh?' Hitomi thought as tears streamed down her face. Why had Jack lied to her like that? Why had he invited her to a movie when he was seeing someone else? What kind of a jerk invited a girl to watch a movie when he was going to kiss another before the date even started? Hitomi then realized what kind of person Jack really was. She turned around and ran in the opposite direction.

"Hitomi! Wait!" Hitomi heard Yukari yell after her, but Hitomi didn't wait. She didn't want Jack to see her there. She certainly didn't want him to see her tears for fear that he would laugh at her. She didn't want to face him now.

As she was running she didn't notice the person she bumped into. Both of them went tumbling to the floor and Hitomi stood up immediately and bowed. "I'm sorry sir. I didn't watch where I was going," Hitomi apologized, going as low as she could go, not letting her see who she had bumped into. The person's scent was familiar however. Then there was also the fact that tears were streaming down her face, fogging her eyes and falling onto the cement below her.

"Hitomi?" she heard a familiar voice ask, causing her heart a skip a beat. 'Anyone but him' she begged.

Hitomi looked up, the tears still on her face, and discovered that Van was the one she had bumped into, confirming her earlier suspicions. He had a look of concern on his face that looked adorable and irresistible to Hitomi. It seemed like a sweet scene to her.

His arms were slightly raised and he looked like he wanted to hold her for an eternity's time and never let go. He also wanted to hold her close and make whatever pain she was feeling go away by wiping away her tears and soothing her soul. "Hitomi, what happened? Why are you crying?" He swore, who ever hurt her was going to pay!

More tears threatened to stream down so Hitomi turned around and tried to leave, not wanting Van to feel pity for her and not wanting him to see her like this, but Van's hand grabbed her arm, not letting her go. She looked at him curiously and melted under his gaze.

"Tell me what's wrong," Van said in the sweetest voice he could. He actually succeeded.

She couldn't hold it in anymore. She was tired of always holding the tears back and never letting it all out. She began to cry, hard, letting it all come out and deciding it felt good. Van wrapped his arms around Hitomi in an attempt to calm her down. It _did_ ease her a bit and soon her loud crying turned into tiny sobs. She wished this could last forever. But she was also puzzled as to how Van did it. How had he made her feel better? Did he have some kind of angelic power Hitomi didn't know of that was released whenever people cried? Did a halo of power always come out and heal people?

After a while of crying, Hitomi pulled away reluctantly and wiped at her tears. She felt a little bit better and she had Van to thank. She was going to open her mouth to thank him, then leave, but he spoke.

"Will you tell me now why you were crying?" Van asked as he put his hands on her shoulders, looking at her intently, yet softly, his eyes pleading for the truth.

Aside from having those healing powers, he seemed to be able to hypnotize with his powerful eyes filled with fire that sometimes were soft and tender flames when Van was being nice and comforting, and sometimes were roaring with rage when Van was angry. Hitomi was hypnotized under his gaze and she nodded slowly. "I-I caught Jack with another girl. The same Jack I told you I was going on a date with. He-he kissed her in front of the same theater that he invited me to." Hitomi began to cry again but she stopped herself this time. The urge to cry wasn't as powerful as it had been before.

"That jerk!" Van yelled. So he had been the one to make her cry! He swore that bastard Jack was going to pay. His eyes now burned with rage. "How could he do that to you? You don't deserve something like that to happen to you Hitomi and you definitely don't deserve someone like him," he swore, his heart speaking for him, rather than his brain.

Hitomi wiped her tears, finally feeling at peace, and looked up at Van. "Thank you Van, for being here with me." She said the last line rather choked for some reason, as if she wished it were more. "I'm glad I have a friend like you." 

Van frowned. Was that what she though of him this whole time? That he was just a friend? Well, actions speak louder than words, though you still have to say what the action means. "Hitomi, has it ever occurred to you that…I like you more than a friend?" 

Hitomi gasped. She definitely hadn't expected him to say that! She stared in shock at him as she blushed a deep red. "Van....." 

Van couldn't back down now. He had to share with her this information or else he felt like he would burst. He just couldn't keep it to himself anymore. He had to voice what his heart had been telling him to say the whole time. "Yes Hitomi. I can't hide these feelings anymore. Since the moment I met you I've been in love with you." 

All Hitomi could do was stare at Van. She was at a loss for words. Her heart sped up to beat a thousand times per second. She was blushing as badly as the color of a tomato. Maybe more.

Her color darkened as Van used the grip he had on her shoulders to pull her closer to him. Then he began to lean in ever so slowly, as if unsure. She didn't know what was possessing her or what she was doing, but her eyes fluttered until they finally closed. She felt his wonderful warm breath on her face but he seemed to hesitate. She helped his hesitation and leaned in towards him, her arms going around his neck. Van smiled as he breathed on her, then went forward some more until their lips met in the sweetest kiss any girl could ever get from a guy. He didn't force his lips on her but it also wasn't a tiny peck he gave her. It was as if he were a naturally good kisser.

To Hitomi, the moment was perfect.   


(Dramatic voice) TO BE CONTINUED… ^_~ 

HitomiFanel: WOW! I TOTALLY revised that scene! When you look back at the original version, you can tell I REALLY worked on this! I'm so proud of the fluffiness of it! Did you like the fluff? I grade the fluff "CLASS A" fluff. What do you think? What will happen now that Van and Hitomi kiss? What kind of future awaits them? 

Zakyra: Review to find out! ^_~

HitomiFanel: And thanks to all who reviewed. If I get more than 10 reviews for this part, than I'll know you'll enjoy it and I'll send out the next part TOMORROW! Quick, and just for my reviewers and readers.

Zakyra: She ain't kidding either.


	9. The New Kid Part 8

HitomiFanel: OH! I feel terrible! So aweful!

Zakyra (who comes in with a bag of chips): What's wrong Hito?

HitomiFanel: I feel really bad. I said in part 7 that I was going to post up part 8 the next day but I didn't. (Bows as low as she can to audience) Please forgive me!

Zakyra: Hito, stand up. They'll forgive, especially since you posted part 8 now.

HitomiFanel: Thanks Zakyra.

Zakyra: Besides, I'm sure they understand about the fact that you had a TON of homework this week, plus that you had to study for 5 make-up tests!! That's a lot of tests to take at one time.

HitomiFanel: It was, but hey! Now I have a D (65.1%) in Chemistry (from an F (50.2%)! Yay! I'm so happy. Now all I have to do is get a C or D on the final and I won't have to repeat the semester! (does victory dance)

Zakyra: While Hito dances from happiness, go ahead and read. Oh! And how was part 7 for a cliffhanger? Enjoy what you read!

The New Kid

Disclaimer: I don't own Escaflowne but I do own Jack Roberts   


(Recap)

"Hitomi?" she heard a familiar voice ask, causing her heart a skip a beat. 'Anyone but him' she begged.

Hitomi looked up, the tears still on her face, and discovered that Van was the one she had bumped into, confirming her earlier suspicions. He had a look of concern on his face that looked adorable and irresistible to Hitomi. It seemed like a sweet scene to her.

His arms were slightly raised and he looked like he wanted to hold her for an eternity's time and never let go. He also wanted to hold her close and make whatever pain she was feeling go away by wiping away her tears and soothing her soul. "Hitomi, what happened? Why are you crying?" He swore, who ever hurt her was going to pay!

More tears threatened to stream down so Hitomi turned around and tried to leave, not wanting Van to feel pity for her and not wanting him to see her like this, but Van's hand grabbed her arm, not letting her go. She looked at him curiously and melted under his gaze.

"Tell me what's wrong," Van said in the sweetest voice he could. He actually succeeded.

She couldn't hold it in anymore. She was tired of always holding the tears back and never letting it all out. She began to cry, hard, letting it all come out and deciding it felt good. Van wrapped his arms around Hitomi in an attempt to calm her down. It did ease her a bit and soon her loud crying turned into tiny sobs. She wished this could last forever. But she was also puzzled as to how Van did it. How had he made her feel better? Did he have some kind of angelic power Hitomi didn't know of that was released whenever people cried? Did a halo of power always come out and heal people?

After a while of crying, Hitomi pulled away reluctantly and wiped at her tears. She felt a little bit better and she had Van to thank. She was going to open her mouth to thank him, then leave, but he spoke.

"Will you tell me now why you were crying?" Van asked as he put his hands on her shoulders, looking at her intently, yet softly, his eyes pleading for the truth.

Aside from having those healing powers, he seemed to be able to hypnotize with his powerful eyes filled with fire that sometimes were soft and tender flames when Van was being nice and comforting, and sometimes were roaring with rage when Van was angry. Hitomi was hypnotized under his gaze and she nodded slowly. "I-I caught Jack with another girl. The same Jack I told you I was going on a date with. He-he kissed her in front of the same theater that he invited me to." Hitomi began to cry again but she stopped herself this time. The urge to cry wasn't as powerful as it had been before.

"That jerk!" Van yelled. So he had been the one to make her cry! He swore that bastard Jack was going to pay. His eyes now burned with rage. "How could he do that to you? You don't deserve something like that to happen to you Hitomi and you definitely don't deserve someone like him," he swore, his heart speaking for him, rather than his brain.

Hitomi wiped her tears, finally feeling at peace, and looked up at Van. "Thank you Van, for being here with me." She said the last line rather choked for some reason, as if she wished it were more. "I'm glad I have a friend like you." 

Van frowned. Was that what she though of him this whole time? That he was just a friend? Well, actions speak louder than words, though you still have to say what the action means. "Hitomi, has it ever occurred to you that…I like you more than a friend?" 

Hitomi gasped. She definitely hadn't expected him to say that! She stared in shock at him as she blushed a deep red. "Van....." 

Van couldn't back down now. He had to share with her this information or else he felt like he would burst. He just couldn't keep it to himself anymore. He had to voice what his heart had been telling him to say the whole time. "Yes Hitomi. I can't hide these feelings anymore. Since the moment I met you I've been in love with you." 

All Hitomi could do was stare at Van. She was at a loss for words. Her heart sped up to beat a thousand times per second. She was blushing as badly as the color of a tomato. Maybe more.

Her color darkened as Van used the grip he had on her shoulders to pull her closer to him. Then he began to lean in ever so slowly, as if unsure. She didn't know what was possessing her or what she was doing, but her eyes fluttered until they finally closed. She felt his wonderful warm breath on her face but he seemed to hesitate. She helped his hesitation and leaned in towards him, her arms going around his neck. Van smiled as he breathed on her, then went forward some more until their lips met in the sweetest kiss any girl could ever get from a guy. He didn't force his lips on her but it also wasn't a tiny peck he gave her. It was as if he were a naturally good kisser.

To Hitomi, the moment was perfect.   


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Something all of a sudden didn't seem right about the kiss. What was wrong? Who knows. Hitomi was smacked back to the here and now and slowly pulled away from Van, although reluctantly. 

"Hitomi?" Van questioned her with slightly pleading eyes. Why had she pulled away? Did she not enjoy the moment like he had? Was she sorry she kissed him? Van's heart felt like it was being tightened and wouldn't stop until he got an answer.

Hitomi was looking down at the floor, fiddling with her fingers. "I'm sorry Van. This just doesn't feel right." With that she turned around and went running off. She wanted to be as far away from Van as humanly possible. 

"Hitomi!" Van yelled after her. He just didn't understand what had gone wrong. He finally had Hitomi in his arms, in the most romantic kiss he had ever had. And yet, she ran off, just like that. Van was very confused. Perhaps he had gone to fast with confessing his true feelings towards her? He didn't know. Van ran after Hitomi to ask her what had gone wrong. 

Hitomi on the other hand, kept running. But running from who? Running from what? The kiss seemed so perfect one moment, then wrong the next. Maybe it WAS just that everything had been happening so fast. She had not expected Van to just tell her that he loved her and then kiss her as though they were already going out. She just…didn't understand herself anymore.

"Hitomi!" she heard some yell. Hitomi stopped in her tracks and saw Van running after her. She didn't continue to run. 'Might as well get it all over with Kanzaki' she thought, though it was her heart speaking and not her mind.

"Hitomi, what happened?" Van asked as he reached her. He needed an answer. He needed to know. Did she love him? At least a bit? Or was she going to tell him that the kiss had repulsed her? That she didn't like him. That she would rather be with that Jack or even Allen. The thought made Van both angry and jealous, and sad and miserable. He didn't know what he would do if Hitomi said the latter.

Hitomi didn't even look at him. "I'm sorry Van. I guess it all happened so quickly. I-I just didn't expect that from you." 

"That's my fault," Van said, relief washing over him, though he was still a little panicked because she could still say she didn't love him. "I shouldn't have been to quick to tell you how I felt about you." 

Hitomi looked up at him and smiled. "No, it's okay. I'm actually glad that you did. I was really hurt about what happened with Jack and you made me forget all about it." 

"That's another reason I told you," Van replied, finally telling what was in his soul and heart. He crossed his arms over his chest and looked away from her. The thought of almost loosing Hitomi to some jerk whom didn't deserve her was in his mind and it wouldn't stop bothering him. "I was so jealous to see you with him that I had to tell you before you ended up falling in love with that Jack Roberts." 

Hitomi walked over to Van and hugged him. She breathed him in and smelled his wonderful smell of soap and colon. "Thank you for loving me Van. It WAS a shock but I'm actually glad it was you. You're a much better guy than that Jack anyway." 

"Hitomi......" Van whispered softly. His heart expanded with love for her and he decided to try again, hoping that this time it would be nothing but right. He bent down ever so slowly and captured Hitomi's lips with his own. This time, the kiss was only right. Nothing was wrong with it. Van could tell.

Hitomi wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him back, as Van slipped his hands to her waist, although he did it as if afraid. Hitomi didn't move them. Not only did she not want to scare Van, but she actually liked the feeling.

They pulled away and smiled at each other with smiles of love. Then Hitomi found herself saying something that shocked even her. She thought that perhaps her heart was controlling her and making her say it. But since it was her heart, she knew she meant it. "I love you Van." 

Van stared wide-eyed at Hitomi. He certainly hadn't expected that. In his mind he was doing a victory dance because he had finally gotten the only girl he had ever fallen in love with. On the outside, he stayed composed so he could tell her the truth. "I love you too Hitomi." 

They smiled at each other, both of them truly happy for once, and hand-in-hand, Van walked Hitomi home. 

-----

The stars had begun to come out as Van and Hitomi walked hand-in-hand down the street, both of them snuggling together for warmth as they walked. When they arrived at Hitomi's house, Hitomi stood on the porch as she looked at her new boyfriend in front of her. She knew she was lucky for having someone like him. She smiled. "Thank you for being there for me Van. I really appreciate it."

Van smiled as his hands went into his pocket. "No problem. Do you actually think that I would leave you in that state?" 

Now it was Hitomi's turn to smile. She reached up and gave Van a quick, though love-filled kiss. "Good night." 

Van turned around, but moved his head to look over his shoulder. "Good night, my princess." 

Hitomi lightly giggled and walked inside her house, closing the door behind her. The day had definitely turned out for the better.

-------

The next day, Yukari went to Hitomi's house to check on her. Yukari was really worried about Hitomi because of what happened yesterday with Jack. She hoped she wouldn't arrive at her house and find Hitomi all miserable and not even wanting to come to school. She knocked on the door, her impatience driving her mad.

The door opened and Hitomi came out. Yukari saw the huge smile on Hitomi's face and guessed that her family might have comforted her yesterday. That eased Yukari a bit, though she still wanted to know what happened. "Why are you so cheery this morning? I would have thought that after what happened with Jack you would have come to school all moody." 

Hitomi couldn't seem to hold it in. She had to tell someone. "Guess what?" she asked with a smile.

"What?" Yukari asked, knowing she was going to say something about yesterday.

Hitomi slightly giggled and waited a while before answering. "After I ran away from the mall I literally bumped into Van. You'll never guess what happened between us." 

Yukari went wide-eyed. 'Please, please, please.' "What happened?" 

Again Hitomi waited. When she said it, she tried to hide her excitement so instead she spread her arms out. "Van told me he loved me and then he kissed me." 

Yukari gasped. She couldn't believe it, she didn't want to believe it. She couldn't believe that the hunk she dreamt would tell her he loved her, actually turned out to be in love with her best friend. Was life really this unfair?

"I can't believe this!" Yukari yelled in a loud tone, not even knowing she had said that. She hadn't meant to be so loud. She wanted to respond by telling Hitomi that she was glad and that she hoped she would be happy with Van. But that's not the way it came out. It seems that she spoke it without thinking. She had wanted to hide it, but her mouth spoke for her.

"What's up with you?" Hitomi asked. She could tell something was bothering Yukari. She didn't usually scream stuff out like that. 

'No use in trying to hide it out now' Yukari thought as she looked at Hitomi, who was standing on the porch, searching for answers from her best friend. Or was it EX-best friend? "You want to know what's bothering me Hitomi?! Well I'll tell you." 

Hitomi saw the tears begin to form in Yukari's eyes. She waited patiently, though she never would have imagine the next sentence being said to her by her best friend.

"My problem is that you're with the guy I've dreamt of being with!" 

Hitomi gasped. She DEFINITELY hadn't expected that. She expected something a little less shocking. "Y-you like Van?" she asked, her hand covering her mouth.

"No, I don't like Van, I love Van!" 

Hitomi gasped again, only louder. Yukari ran off crying.   


(Dramatic voice) TO BE CONTINUED…

HitomiFanel: Yay! Part 8 now done!

Zakyra: Oh wow! I never expected THAT!

HitomiFanel: Yeah, well, when I first originally wrote this, I had planned on only having Van and Hitomi confess and then kiss. Part 7 was where it was supposed to end.

Zakyra: What happened. How come you continued?

HitomiFanel: Well, I asked the people if they wanted me to stop, or continue and make it into a soap opera. They chose the latter so here's what resulted.

Zakyra: Wow…

HitomiFanel: And if you want to know what happens…

HitomiFanel and Zakyra: PLEASE REVIEW!!!!! ^_^ V (HF) ^_~ (Z)


	10. The New Kid Part 9

HitomiFanel: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Zakyra: What's wrong now Hito?

HitomiFanel: I haven't posted in sooooooooo long!!!! Everyone must hate me now!!!!!

Zakyra: Hito, calm down. I'm sure they'll forgive you. Especially since they'll understand that it was school again.

HitomiFanel: Hopefully. (turns towards audience) I HATE SCHOOL!!!!! (calms down then looks at reviews) Wow! I wasn't expecting to get so many reviews so fast. If I get a few more, than this will be my best story. My highest one is "Who's that girl?", a Hey Arnold fanfiction with 43 reviews. I hope I can beat that.

Zakyra: Hitomi would now like to thank the following people for reviewing.

HitomFanel: Longest note ever but I want to thank **Nova S. **first. You reviewed EVERY single part, even though you barely started reading the fic. Um, there was one comment you made that I need to talk about. When you said that if the annoying repeating thing that I had was the conversations I had with Zakyra, that's wrong. The actual answer is that when I first made this story, someone told me that I made Hitomi run away crying from everything. It was true too. And I think things like that didn't let me win the "Fic of the Year" award. Someone else did.

Zakyra: Wow Hito, your story was nominated?

HitomiFanel: Yup! I have the award on "My Pictures". Even if I didn't win, I'm still proud that I was nominated.

HitomiFanel: Okay, next person is **Carrie**. She even sent me an e-mail that I really appreciated. I hope she keeps e-mailing!

HitomiFanel: Next is **Yukari** who included her e-mail. There are two and I want to thank **Yukari Kanzaki** also but **Yukari** gave me the names of Hitomi's family which I appreciate!

HitomiFanel: **Cade Kar Diabolus**, I liked you poem. It was cute! Thanks!

HitomiFanel: Next is **Feathers of the Wind**. I'm glad you liked the fluff! :)

HitomiFanel: **Dilanda**, your comment was from a LONG time ago but I thank you now *thumps up back*

HitomiFanel: Finally, I want to thank everyone else who supported me:** Magicman, Xeluu, Ashley Chu, Ashley, TA, Ryoki, Marcie, Ah-Young, Au, Hitomi, Hope, Fitz20, Natsuki **(and this will probably be the only time I have a story read and done before I post it ^_~)**, Hitomi Silver Cat** (and don't worry. I will continue this fic till the end and not leave you or anyone hanging)**, Desire6528, snowangel, maniac bubblicous** (and I love your story "Meant for Each Other"!! Keep going!!!), **Stelmarta **(sorry for apologizing :) ), and last but not least **sad sad world**!!!! Thank you everyone.

Zakyra: NOW you can go ahead and read the story.

HitomiFanel: Enjoy this part!

The New Kid

Disclaimer: The Escaflowne playground belongs to Shoji Kawamori. I'm only playing on the swings. Please don't litter, please don't mess anything up, and please don't feed the unicorns, trolls, fairies, or elves ^_^ (Zakyra: What a funky disclaimer Hito)

(recap)

"What's up with you?" Hitomi asked. She could tell something was bothering Yukari. She didn't usually scream stuff out like that. 

'No use in trying to hide it out now' Yukari thought as she looked at Hitomi, who was standing on the porch, searching for answers from her best friend. Or was it EX-best friend? "You want to know what's bothering me Hitomi?! Well I'll tell you." 

Hitomi saw the tears begin to form in Yukari's eyes. She waited patiently, though she never would have imagine the next sentence being said to her by her best friend.

"My problem is that you're with the guy I've dreamt of being with!" 

Hitomi gasped. She DEFINITELY hadn't expected that. She expected something a little less shocking. "Y-you like Van?" she asked, her hand covering her mouth.

"No, I don't like Van, I love Van!" 

Hitomi gasped again, only louder. Yukari ran off crying.

------

Hitomi stood, completely shocked by what Yukari said. Had she heard right?

No, I don't like Van, I love Van! 

The words kept playing repeatedly in Hitomi's mind. She hadn't expected to hear that from her best friend. Now she seemed to be faced with a difficult decision. She didn't know what to do.

'Poor Yukari' she thought sadly as she continued to walk to school, alone. 'I didn't know she felt that way about Van. Maybe…maybe I should let Yukari have Van. Yukari is my best friend and I don't want to loose her. If she loves Van then I shouldn't interfere.'

She was doing it for her best friend, but did she really want to loose Van?

--------

"Hitomi! Hi!" an excited Van yelled when he saw her come up. He had been dreaming all day yesterday, not being able to get her out of his head. This was always the case before, but the other time his thoughts were jealous, angry and even hateful. Now they were happy, love-filled, and all those other wonderful things. Now he dreamed everyday with kissing her and holding her in his arms, never to let go again. There was one thing Van knew for sure.

She was the one.

He smiled and began to walk over to her, but he stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the look on Hitomi's face. This did not look good. Their relationship had only just begun, but Van felt like their spirits were connected somehow, and that he could feel when she was troubled.

Once they met half way, Van asked, "Hitomi, what's wrong?" He could tell something was wrong. The look on her face told him that, though he didn't like it.

Hitomi was quiet for a long moment. Should she tell him? COULD she tell him? On the other hand, was that totally violating Yukari's own chance at saying it? She looked him dead in the eye and tried to give him a serious "I'm not interested" look, but it only came out pained and hurt. "Van I…I can't see you anymore," Hitomi bluntly replied. Tears were now stinging her eyes. She wiped them away in anger.

Van gasped, his eyes growing large. No. This couldn't be true. Had he even heard right? He definitely hadn't expected her to say this. "Nani?" (That's the VERY first Japanese word I ever learned and when I wrote this, I decided to try it out)

Hitomi looked down at the ground and her tears fell from her face towards the cold cement below her. "I'm sorry" Hitomi replied quietly, yet painfully. She ran off with the tears spilling down her face. 

As Hitomi ran, she heard Van yell "Hitomi! Wait!" Hitomi didn't wait. She had to find Yukari and fast. This was it. She had given up love for friendship.

She just hoped she was doing the right thing…

--------

Hitomi had been running for a while, look for her best friend. Or was it ex? She found her sitting alone on one of the park benches, looking straight ahead as if she were the only person on the world. "Yukari!" Hitomi yelled as she reached were Yukari had been sitting. "We need to talk." 

Yukari stood up, looking angry. "There is nothing to talk about Hitomi," she replied icily.

Hitomi was stubborn and Yukari knew it. But the thought didn't make her smile at the thought. Hitomi continued as she fiddled with her fingers. "Yes there is." Pause. "I-I broke up with Van. You're my best friend and I don't want to loose you." 

Yukari backed up a little, totally taken aback by what she had said. The third person to think they hadn't heard right. Was Hitomi really giving up Van for her? Was Yukari's friendship really THAT important to her? (don't go thinking Yukari always thought that it wasn't) Yukari decided to forgive her. She had just made the ultimate sacrifice…for her. Yukari was glad she was blessed with such a good friend. She turned around and hugged Hitomi. "Thank you Hitomi!" 

Hitomi's face turned sorrowful as Yukari hugged her. 'Well, at least I have Yukari back. We've been friends since grade school and I don't want to loose such a long friendship.' When Yukari pulled away Hitomi made herself smile, though she felt there was nothing to smile about.

Yukari smiled as well and decided to change the subject. 

They walked home as best friends again. 

----------

"Hitomi! Dinner time!" Yuri Kanzaki yelled from the kitchen (thanks again **Yukari**!).

After what happened that day, Hitomi had locked herself in her room and not come out. This worried her mom but she had no idea how much her daughter was suffering. Hitomi herself was left in wonder as she lay there on her bed, her pillow propped up under her head. 'I don't get it' she thought as she looked at the carousel her dad had given her. It always calmed her down. 'Why is this affecting me so much?' She sighed and flipped over on her back, still listening to the music of her carousel.

A voice answered for her.

Because you're in love with him

Hitomi decided not to think anymore. She knew her voice was right but she didn't want to admit it. She got up from her bed and headed downstairs. 

Once Hitomi came down to the kitchen, Yuri saw the look on Hitomi's face. Her eyes were blood shot and Yuri could tell she had been crying. What could have happened? Had Van told her? Was this the way she was taking it? Or had they gotten into a fight while he was trying to tell her? Maybe he hadn't told her yet. Didn't the talk she had with Van help? (A talk that never made it in this fic ;) )"Hitomi, what's wrong?" 

Yuri's questions were answered immediately, though she seemed to be missing some answers still. "I broke up with Van," Hitomi told her with her head down as she sat down at the table. She didn't really want to talk about this right now. It still hurt.

Her dad, who had been reading the paper during the entire conversation, put it down and looked at her with a funny gaze like he didn't understand. "Broke up with him? Since when were you with him?" This was definitely something he had never heard from her. Not too long ago she couldn't stand the boy, now she comes home with "I broke up with him". When had she actually gotten together with him? Was he so ignoring his family that he didn't realize it?

Hitomi didn't answer. She didn't want to answer. She just looked down at her hands like they were the most interesting thing in the world. What should she tell them? The truth? Would they believe her? Would they understand? How could they when she barely did? She had given up love for friendship. Was it worth it?

Luckily her brother saved the day. "Hey, maybe Hitomi doesn't want to tell us. We should respect her privacy." 

That shocked Hitomi. She had never expected him to act this nice. Why did he say "respect her privacy" when he was always trying to read her diary? This was certainly strange. Either way, Hitomi looked at Mamoru and smiled in gratitude. He smiled back with a look of understanding.

Mrs. Kanzaki put the food on the table and just stood there, locking her gaze with her daughter. Poor Hitomi. How much heartbreak she was probably suffering. "Well, I hope you know Hitomi that you can tell us anything." 

Hitomi smiled at her mom. "Thanks everybody." 

------------

It was hard for Hitomi to go to school the next day. There were too many things waiting for her there. One, Van, and his determination to get an answer out of her. Two, Yukari and the fact that she was going to cling onto Van until she got a date out of him. She tried to beg her mom not to make her go but she had just said that she needed to face her problems one day. That

she would eventually have to face them because they would still be there the next day, and the next. Might as well get them over with.

When she got to school, instead of seeing Van she saw Yukari. Hitomi didn't know if she could stand talking to her. She had give up love for a friendship that SHE felt wasn't there anymore because she was angry. How ironic and weird. She didn't let her anger show however. 

"Hey Hitomi!" Yukari greeted as she ran up to Hitomi. Maybe she had the information she needed…

Hitomi was forced to smile to at least show Yukari she wasn't bothered by this. "Hi Yukari. She gulped and forced the next question out of her. It just wouldn't leave her alone. "So, have you talked to Van yet?"

Yukari seemed a bit uncomfortable and worried. "No. Actually, the funny thing is, I haven't seen him. It's like he disappeared." 

Hitomi's face grew sad and she directed her gaze towards the floor. 'He probably didn't come because he didn't want to see me.' Could her life possible get any worse? Now Van was avoiding her because of what happened.

Yukari noticed the look on Hitomi's face and decided to question her about it. "Hey, are you okay?"

Hitomi looked up at Yukari and wanted to show anger on her face, but she left it neutral. 'Okay? How dare you ask me that! You should very well know that I'm not okay!' Hitomi wanted to yell out. Instead she smiled her friendly smile, though on the inside it was filled with pain. "I'm okay Yukari. I'll see you later." 

Hitomi walked away and she knew that Yukari was staring at her retreating form. Who knows what she was thinking though. 'If only she knew what this was doing to me.'

---------

The day seemed to get worse.

In one of her classes, Hitomi saw Jack in his usual seat. He was sitting there all calmly, like nothing had happened on Saturday. What was embarrassing was when he turned to look at her. Hitomi decided to look away and not let him see her. She didn't care about him anyway (and she never did), though she was grateful to him because if he hadn't kissed that other girlfriend in front of the theater, she never would have gone off running and met up with Van.

And she also wouldn't be feeling this pain…

Once the class was forced to do a class assignment, Hitomi saw Jack get out of his seat and walk up to her desk. He was smiling but Hitomi could tell it was smugly, like he thought she didn't know what he did.

She hated him.

"Hey," Jack greeted. 

Hitomi looked up at him without emotion. "Hey."

How much she hated him.

"What happened Saturday? I waited for you for a whole hour." 

Hitomi frowned but she didn't show it. She didn't want him to know that she knew. 'I'll bet you did!' She forced herself to smile and say something that didn't sound to angry. It was pretty hard actually but she managed it. "I wasn't feeling well that day. I'm sorry, I should have called." 

Jack smiled at her. "It's okay. But hey, maybe this Saturday I could take you out. We could see a movie and actually see it this time." 

Hitomi tried to hold it in so she gripped her skirt from under her desk. 'Why, so you can kiss your girlfriend before I arrive?!' Hitomi wanted to yell. This just wasn't Hitomi's day. She seemed to be angry with everybody, even herself. But maybe this was the best thing to do in order to forget about Van. Not that she really wanted to, but if he began to date Yukari, then she would need SOMEONE to get her mind off him. "Sure, I'd love to go." 

Jack beamed. "I'll see you at around eight then." He walked over and sat down at his seat. 

Hitomi turned towards her classwork and began to work on it in silence. She wrote her math problems mindlessly as she thought. 'I don't think I'll go. I'll just let him be with his girlfriend. Who cares. He definitely wouldn't help me get my mind off Van.'

She sighed and went back to her classwork, this time working at it for real.

--------

The day was just one big snore for Hitomi. She was glad she didn't die of boredom or fall asleep in class. That would have been the most embarrassing thing for her. That would have made her not-so-good day even worse. 

Once school was out, Hitomi went home as fast as she could to avoid Yukari and even Van. As she was walking, she heard her name being called into the distance. She knew it wasn't either of the people she was avoiding but it still made her jump, for this person was second-to-worse after Van. Hitomi turned around and sure enough, discovered that it was Merle, Van's little sister. 

Hitomi tried to smile. None of her smiles were genuine today. "Hi Merle. I haven't seen you around lately." 

Merle spoke bluntly. "Hitomi, I need to talk to you about something." She wanted to get to the point and help her brother in any way she could. Hitomi was the only one with the answers. And she WOULD get the answers out of her, no matter what it took.

Hitomi flinched. She knew what Merle wanted. Maybe she could pretend and avoid the questions. No, she knew by now that Merle was too smart to fall for lies. She knew when someone was lying and when someone was telling the truth.

Merle gave her a piercing gaze as she stood there, her hands limp at her sides. "Van told me about what happened yesterday at school. He couldn't come to school today because he was sick so he sent me to get some answers." Her eyes then became pleading and Hitomi could swear that she was starting to tear up. She really loved her brother liked nobody's business. "What happened? Why did you break up with Van?" 

Hitomi didn't know how to answer. How could she just say that she broke up with Van because Yukari was her best friend and she was in love with Van? Wouldn't they think it was a dumb excuse? Would her own sister understand?

When Hitomi didn't answer, Merle changed the subject. Might as well tell her this, even though Van made her swear never to tell Hitomi. She cleared her throat. "Remember when you asked me what Van had said to me about you?" 

Hitomi thought back to that day, then nodded. 

"Well, all I said was that Van told me that you were only a girl who went to school with him. That was a lie. What Van actually told me was that you were the most incredible girl he had ever met and that he was in love with you. He was in love with you ever since he laid eyes on you." 

Hitomi's face saddened. 'No wonder Van was jealous all those times. Like when I asked about Allen or when I said that I had a date with Jack. It was ALL because he was jealous. Poor Van.' This information made her feel worse about everything. To thing that event that day when she got angry with him for distracting her in the race, he was already in love with her.

"So," said Merle, interrupting Hitomi from her thoughts, "why did you break up with him?" 

Again Hitomi didn't know how to answer. This was so frustrating!

Just tell the truth.

She decided to listen this time, instead of push the voice away. She sighed and looked down at the floor. "The reason I broke up with him was because Yukari is in love with him. She's my best friend and I didn't want to loose her. I know it's a bad excuse but that's the truth." 

Merle only looked at Hitomi. Time suspended in the air before Merle sighed. "I agree with you. That is a dumb excuse. You shouldn't break up with Van just because someone else is in love with him. If you love him then you shouldn't give up on him. If I was in love with someone and that person loved me back but my best friend was also in love with him then I wouldn't break up with him just so my friend could have him." 

Hitomi cast her gaze downward and took in all that Merle was saying. 'She does have a point. But she doesn't understand that Yukari will hate me forever if I get back with Van.' Hitomi looked up at her and frowned, for once feeling something other than sadness and guilt (Ack! My other story title!)"Well, that's where we're different. You see, I do value my friends' friendships. I broke up with Van so Yukari could have him and not hate me," Hitomi replied to Merle. 

Merle gasped as her faced turned angry. 'She's insulting me!' 

Hitomi turned around. "I need to go home. I'll see you later." She ran off toward her house, not once turning to look back or anything.

"Wait!" Merle yelled. "We're not through!"

'Oh, but I am.'

--------

She was plagued. She was cursed with misfortune. Tears began to well up in her emerald eyes as she ran as fast as she could, not caring where she was going. She needed to be alone for a while and forget everything. To think about things and make herself feel better.

She didn't notice it when she bumped into someone…

Hitomi got up and bowed before she even saw who she had bumped into. Just say sorry, then walk away and continue to find a secluded spot where she could think. "I'm sorry. I should have watched where I was going." 

"Hitomi…" Hitomi heard a pained voice say. Her heart thumped. She knew that voice! With her heart pounding in her chest and her breathing now irregular, she looked up slowly. 

"Van!" Hitomi yelled.   
  
(Dramatic voice) TO BE CONTINUED… ^_~

HitomiFanel: Hehe, what a cool place to leave it.

Zakyra: Dang! Why there!?!?!

HitomiFanel: Calm down Zakyra. Next part will be out soon.

Zakyra: Yeah but **WHY THERE**!?!?!?! I want to know what happens when they meet! Are they going to get back together?!?!?

HitomiFanel:………. ^_^

Zakyra: HITOMIFANEL!!!!!! TELL ME NOW!!!!!

HitomiFanel (Sweatdrops): Geez, okay. (bends over and whispers in ear for a while) ……..

Zakyra (eyes widening): WWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWW!!!!!!

HitomiFanel (laughing): Yup. That's what'll happen. But you can't tell, kay?

Zakyra: Sure. Let them see for themselves. (leaves dancing from happiness)

HitomiFanel: Okay, now is my chance to make an announcement while Zakyra is off celebrating the next part which she'll probably go off and read while I'm not there anyway. Okay, I was writing an e-mail to someone and a thought struck me. I decided to make a sequel to "The New Kid". I need your opinion though, if you want so see more of this fic. Problem is, I don't know what should happen. As an author, I'm prohibited from taking ideas from people. It's a writer's rule that I SERIOUSLY don't want to break. I guess I try to come up with something. Maybe I'll just think up of options and let all of you choose. Actually, I have a few ideas but I can't say which ones until this fic is done. Letting you choose now will ruin the ending.

Zakyra (popping head in room): AND PLEASE REVIEW SO YOU CAN SEE THE AWESOME NEXT PART!!!!!

HitomiFanel (jumps 20 feet in the air): AAAAHHHH!!!

Zakyra (laughing): Whoops! Sorry Hito. ^_^

HitomiFanel: Geez…See ya in part 10. Please tell me what you thought! (runs after Zakyra for scaring her, who dodges and runs away, laughing)

A note from my new fic that I'm working on called "A Regular Day in Fanelia". Just wanted to include it so you could get the end, which I'm now enforcing into my stories.

"HitomiFanel: Geez, I try to sleep, yet I think about the pictures I have of Van and Folken and this idea pops into my head. Why does inspiration always hit while you try to sleep?

Zakyra: Haha Hito. Poor you. Trying to get some rest so you can go to Chemistry the next day yet this happens.

HitomiFanel: Yeah but oh well. Need to write the idea down before I forget.

Zakyra: It's a one-shot. She told me.

HitomiFanel: Yupsters ^_^! Like I was saying before, I was thinking about the Folken and Van pictures and I decided to write this story.

Zakyra: It's about Folken spending the day with 5 year old Van before he goes off to fight the dragon the next day.

HitomiFanel: And don't think this doesn't have romance. Guess who I include in the end? A clue: They're already married and one needs comfort from the other after this.

Zakyra: Can't you ever write a story WITHOUT romance?

HitomiFanel: Nope ^_^! I'll NEVER write a story without romance. It's just not me.

Zakyra: Geez, then you should change your name to "Queen Fluff"

HitomiFanel: Nah. There's already a Queen Fluff. Her name's Personification of Fluff and she has the MOST AWESOME fic called "Last Sight" that I hope has part 14 out soon ^_~! Besides, I'm Hitomi Fanel, Queen of Fanelia, but mostly Vanny-chan's wife! (taken from a fic called "High School Madness" Sorry! I don't remember the author's name but the fic is HILARIOUS!)

Zakyra (sweatdrop): Vanny-chan? You're using that term?

HitomiFanel: Of course. He's my Vanny. I love him sooooo much! ^_^ Why do you think I married him?

Zakyra: Just go read the story before she starts appointing laws in Fanelia.

HitomiFanel: Not a bad idea. From now on, when you, the readers, come into to read my fics, you've entered Fanelia and then been led straight to the library. And my law here is that if you read, you must review...please? ^_^

Zakyra: Just go ahead and read this!

HitomiFanel: Enjoy but please put the book back on the shelf when you're done!

Zakyra: Geez..."

~**~

Zakyra: You shouldn't have shown that note until you posted the fic.

HitomiFanel: Yeah, but like it says, from now on when you enter a fic of mine, you have entered Fanelia's library in the Fanelian castle where me and Van are.

Zakyra: So you're telling me that…

Van: Hey!

HitomiFanel: Vanny-chan! (goes over and hugs him)

Zakyra: Oh god! I thought she was kidding!

HitomiFanel (while still holding onto Vanny-chan): From now on, Vanny-chan is going to be in here with us Zakyra, talking about the fics.

Van: Yeah. And I'll comment too.

Zakyra: Glad you could join us Van. Hope Hito doesn't bother you.

Van: Nah.

HitomiFanel: Okay, ya know the routine…

HitomiFanel, Van, Zakyra: PLEASE REVIEW!!! ^_^ V (HF), ^_~ (Z), :-) (V)


	11. The New Kid Part 10

HitomiFanel: Oh boy. Someone out there doesn't like you Zakyra.

Zakyra: Ah well, can't win them all.

HitomiFanel: Welcome to the Fanelian library! I hope you enjoy your stay!

Zakyra: Where's Van?

HitomiFanel: Council meeting. He says he's sorry for not being able to come today. He really wanted to just hang out with us.

Zakyra: Poor Vanny-chan…

HitomiFanel: Now YOU'RE calling him Vanny-chan ^_^.

Zakyra: It's kind of contagious. Besides, it's a cute name.

HitomiFanel: Hehe, well, I'd again like to thank people for reviewing.

HitomiFanel: First off is **Nova S.** again. And it's okay about not knowing about what the repeating event was. I'm can't guarantee it won't happen again. I don't even know. It's been a while since I read the WHOLE story. We'll see in this chapter.

HitomiFanel: I'd also like to thank **Silver Cat**. And yes, there will be a sequel but I need your input and I need to figure out what should happen, though I think I know which one I'll pick. I'll tell you all in the end of the fic.

HitomiFanel: I'd also like to thank **Theo Gabrielle**! A new reviewer! Yay!

HitomiFanel: I'd also like to thank **Ryoki**. I would actually like to hear that song! Haha. Hope you can send it!

HitomiFanel: Now to thank **angel**, **Feathers of the Wind**, **safilady**, **Sad 'N Depressed**, and **hitomi**.Thanks for the kind reviews!

HitomiFanel: And no **Natsuki**, I didn't die. It's just that right now with Finals and all, I'm busy studying. I still try to supply the chapters as fast as I can so please be patient with me.

HitomiFanel: And for **Mika Hames**, sorry I have to say this but I can't e-mail the story to you. If you want to read the complete story, go www.angelfire.com/rpg/fanfiction and search for me as "Jessica Hernandez-Loera" and read the story there. Just click on the "J" at the top of the screen. Granted though, this version is better because it's revised but you be the judge. But thanks for saying you want me to count your review as 1000 reviews. It meant a lot to me.

HitomiFanel: I saved you, **Ah-Young**, for last. Not to be mean or anything, but I don't think I'll drop Zakyra. She's here as my special guest. And no one else seemed to complain about her ^_~.

Zakyra: I ain't leaving.

HitomiFanel: No one said you had to.

Zakyra: Well, go ahead and read this chapter! Enjoy!

The New Kid

Disclaimer: The Escaflowne playground belongs to Shoji Kawamori. I'm only playing on the swings. Please don't litter, please don't mess anything up, and please don't feed the unicorns, trolls, fairies, or elves ^_^ 

(recap)

She was plagued. She was cursed with misfortune. Tears began to well up in her emerald eyes as she ran as fast as she could, not caring where she was going. She needed to be alone for a while and forget everything. To think about things and make herself feel better.

She didn't notice it when she bumped into someone…

Hitomi got up and bowed before she even saw who she had bumped into. Just say sorry, then walk away and continue to find a secluded spot where she could think. "I'm sorry. I should have watched where I was going." 

"Hitomi…" Hitomi heard a pained voice say. Her heart thumped. She knew that voice! With her heart pounding in her chest and her breathing now irregular, she looked up slowly. 

"Van!" Hitomi yelled.   


-----

Time seemed to suspend at that moment. Neither said anything as they both just stood there, looking at each with longing looks, one begging for the truth and the other wishing the other understood. Van and Hitomi stood facing each other, not knowing what to say. Hitomi was relieved (in a way) that she had bumped into Van. That would give her the opportunity to explain to Van, rather than let Merelu do it. It seemed like a better idea if it came from her.

Van was the one who broke the silence. He sighed heavily. He looked at Hitomi with pleading eyes that caused Hitomi's heart to break. Looking into his warm, mud-red, beautiful eyes, Hitomi almost felt like telling Van she was sorry and getting back together with him. But her resolve wouldn't let her. "Hitomi, I want to know. Why—" 

Hitomi held her hand up towards him, silencing him. "Don't say any more Van. I'll explain to you why I broke up with you." Hitomi sighed and hoped she was doing the right thing. "The reason is—" 

"Van! Hey Van!" they heard a voice interrupt. Both Van and Hitomi turned to look at who had called; though both glared. 

It was Yukari. 

"Hey Van!" She greeted happily when she finally reached them. She didn't seem to notice the glares, which Van shot the strongest. She had just interrupted Hitomi's explanation as to why she broke up with him when he could clearly see that she loved him like he loved her. 'Curse Yukari' Van's mind wanted shout. He actually wished he had the magic to curse her. 

Yukari looked at Hitomi, a little bugged that Hitomi was talking to Van. "Hey Hitomi," she said, trying her best not to let Hitomi know she was annoyed at her.

Hitomi changed her mind then. She hadn't noticed the tone in Yukari's voice but she saw that this was better. 'I'll just leave them to talk and then…get together' she made herself say to herself. Even saying it to herself was hard. She didn't really want it to happen but Yukari loved Van and Hitomi didn't want to loose her friendship. She turned around and began to walk away from them without a word. She didn't look back. 'The things I have to do to keep my friendship with Yukari.'

"Hitomi! Wait!" she could here Van yell. She didn't wait. She figured she was about to make the biggest mistake of her life. She was going to tell Van about Yukari being in love with him. She would rather let Yukari be the one to tell him. It was better that way. She knew if she had been Yukari, she would have been mad to learn that someone else told the boy she loved that she loved him.

But…if Yukari did confess, what would happen? Would Van say 'Sorry but I love Hitomi' or would he say ' I love you too' and then kiss her? Hitomi wasn't sure which she wanted. She wanted the happiness of Yukari and her friendship. But she didn't want to loose someone as great as Van. 

With tears in her eyes, Hitomi began to run home. 

--------

Meanwhile, Yukari was really shy about asking Van to a movie. 'This is it' she told herself. 'Just ask him so that you can have him all to yourself. Don't chicken out now.' But as she looked at him, she wasn't sure if she could do it. The biggest hunk in school was standing in front of her and she was too shy to talk. She cursed. 

Van, on the other hand, was mad at Yukari for interrupting the moment he had had with Hitomi. He stood there, looking at where Hitomi had exited. He wanted Hitomi back with all of his heart and it seemed like it was in his reach till this bothersome girl came and interrupted them. He cursed her with words he was too young to know.

Finally, Yukari's resolve gave in and she took a deep breath. "Uh, Van, can I ask you something?" 

Van was annoyed but decided to let her ask. "What?" he growled low, trying to hide his anger.

Yukari, either not noticing the annoyance in his voice or not caring, asked, "Would you like to go see a movie Saturday night?" 

Van turned to look at her with wide eyes. 'A movie? With you?' his mind screamed. He would have been nuts to accept her offer when all he wanted was to hold Hitomi and kiss her forever.

He gave her a soft glare, trying to tell her with his eyes how he felt about all this, and especially about her. "I can't Saturday. I'm busy." He turned around towards the direction Hitomi had exited. "I need to go. I'll catch you later." In his mind he added ' Much later.' And that was all. He just ran away from her like his feet were on fire.

Van ran towards Hitomi's house, wanting the explanation she was going to give him. He was determined to hear what she had to say. He was even more determined to get Hitomi back. Nothing would stop him. 

---------

Things seemed to weigh on her shoulders when Hitomi finally reached her house. She immediately ran into her room crying, slamming the door behind her. She ran over and plopped herself on the bed, feeling seriously miserable. She didn't care that anyone was home, though by the quietness of the house, it didn't seem like there was anyone home. She was grateful that she was so lucky to come back when the house was vacant. 

A knock suddenly sounded at her door and Hitomi jumped. 'I thought no one was home.' She pouted. 'Well, there goes the last of my luck' she thought bitterly.

The person who knocked opened the door slowly and cautiously and stepped inside. "Hitomi?" the soft voice asked, sounding worried. Hitomi recognized the voice. It was her brother. 

Hitomi sat up on her bed. "What do you want?" Hitomi asked roughly, wiping the tears from her eyes. She didn't want her brother to know she was sad. He would probably tease her about it. 

He slowly came over towards her bed slowly, as if afraid she was some monster that would wake up and bite his head off at any moment. "What's wrong?" 

Hitomi glared at him. "What do you care?" she asked, though she was puzzled at his sudden worry.

He slowly bent down and put a hand on her shoulder, making her feel better. It was funny how a simple, reassuring touch from one of her family members made her feel better. "I DO care because you're my sister. If something is bothering you then I have to know, to see if I can make it all better." 

Hitomi blinked in surprise at his kindness. This was a side to her brother she hadn't seen ever since he was a small child. Either way, she was grateful for it and Hitomi smiled and sat on the edge of the bed. Mamoru sat down next to her, a small smile on his own face. "So, what's wrong?" he asked. 

Hitomi was going to answer when the doorbell rang. She looked up immediately as Mamoru got up to answer it. Hitomi stayed behind since she didn't want to see anybody. She just didn't feel up to talking with anyone.

She heard footsteps come up the stairs and thinking it was her brother, Hitomi went outside her room. She lifted her head when she was outside. Seeing a certain someone standing there, she stopped dead in her tracks and gasped. For the second time today, Van caught her by surprise. 

"Van," Hitomi whispered. 

(Dramatic voice) TO BE CONTINUED…^_~

HitomiFanel (puts book back on shelf): Hehe, another nice place to stop the story.

Zakyra: **AGAIN HITO?!?!?!?**

HitomiFanel: Hey, that's the original way it ended last time.

Zakyra: Geez…People aren't going to like this…

HitomiFanel: Well, in way it makes them come back for more.

Zakyra: True…

HitomiFanel: Okay, I was rummaging through my things and I found this poem that I had gotten out of the internet that was from an Escaflowne site. I'm not sure who the author is or where the site is but here's the poem and I hope you like it (I just felt like sharing it with all of you):

*In the Arms of an Angel*

****

In the arms of an Angel

Is where I long to be

Flying high above the sky

Leaving my doubts and fears behind

****

Tightly held in the arms of an Angel

Is where I belong

Nothing can harm me

If with you I can find rest

****

Hold me forever, my Angel

Never let me fall

Love me, Angel

And I'll never stop dreaming

Of a bright tomorrow

Carried on your wings…

****

HitomiFanel: Hope you liked it! I'm not sure if I should tell you you can take it.

Zakyra: Disclaimer: HitomiFanel doesn't own the poem so don't sue please

HitomiFanel: And like always…

HitomiFanel and Zakyra: PLEASE REVIEW!!!! ^_^ V (HF) ^_~ (Z)

HitomiFanel: And please come back to Fanelia again when you can!

~HitomiFanel, Queen of Fanelia, Vanny-chan's wife, and Keeper of the Fanelian library.


	12. The New Kid Part 11

HitomiFanel: I'm sooooooo sorry I took so long. Curse you finals!!!!  
  
Zakyra: At least you took the hard ones already.  
  
HitomiFanel: Yeah. I'm glad it almost over.  
  
HitomiFanel: Now I want to thank everyone who reviewed. And please enjoy your stay in Fanelia!  
  
1 The New Kid  
  
Disclaimer: The Escaflowne playground belongs to Shoji Kawamori. I'm only playing on the swings. Please don't litter, please don't mess anything up, and please don't feed the unicorns, trolls, fairies, or elves ^_^    
  
(recap)  
  
Mamoru sat down next to her, a small smile on his own face. "So, what's wrong?" he asked.  
  
   Hitomi was going to answer when the doorbell rang. She looked up immediately as Mamoru got up to answer it. Hitomi stayed behind since she didn't want to see anybody. She just didn't feel up to talking with anyone.  
  
   She heard footsteps come up the stairs and thinking it was her brother, Hitomi went outside her room. She lifted her head when she was outside. Seeing a certain someone standing there, she stopped dead in her tracks and gasped. For the second time today, Van caught her by surprise.  
  
   "Van," Hitomi whispered.  
  
-----  
  
They just stared at each other for a long time. Neither said anything for a long moment. Hitomi knew she was trapped while Van knew she couldn't escape from him this time. They would solve this, one way or the other. Van was determined. Nothing was going to steer him away and nothing she said would get rid of him.  
  
Van finally broke the silence. He sighed and began. "Okay Hitomi, this time you will explain to me why you broke up with me," Van demanded giving her a calm, but firm look.  
  
   Hitomi didn't answer him at first as she went over to her bed and sat down. She rested her hands on her lap and looked down at them. Hitomi didn't know what to say. She didn't want to deceive Yukari by telling Van how she felt about him. She also didn't want to lie to Van. She looked him dead in the eye and sighed. "Okay Van, I'll tell you why I broke up with you."  
  
   "Good," Van began as he closed Hitomi's door softly with a click, "because now we won't be interrupted by anybody."  
  
Hitomi sighed again and decided to tell him. She looked down at her hands again and decided to concentrate on them as she talked. This made talking to him a whole lot easier. "The reason is because Yukari is in love with you."  
  
   For a long moment, Van didn't do anything. He looked at Hitomi with no expression. Then came the emotions. He felt shocked, but the greatest emotion top was relief. He thought Hitomi had broken up with him because she didn't love him anymore. He thought he would grow up old and alone, without Hitomi. Man was he wrong! He laughed in happiness. "Is that all?"  
  
   Hitomi was taken aback by his response. She gasped and looked at him with shock, but she hid it by looking angry. She glared at him and raised her voice a few decibels higher. "Is that all you have to say 'Is that all'? Poor Yukari is so in love with you and you don't care? What kind of a person are you?"  
  
   Van stopped laughing and merely smiled at Hitomi. With mischief in his eyes, he walked over to Hitomi and grabbed her softly by her upper arms. He pulled her towards him and bent to whisper in her ear, "I'm a person who is in love with you, Hitomi Kanzaki. You are the one I love, now and forever."  
  
   Hitomi's face contorted into one of sadness as Van moved his face towards hers. She knew what he was going to do and she was powerless to stop it. "Van, don't," Hitomi begged as Van moved his lips slowly towards hers, teasing her a bit by simply letting his lips barely touch hers like a whisper. Although she swore she would stay away from Van and let Yukari have him so that Hitomi wouldn't loose her friendship, she didn't resist Van's touch. He whispered "I love you," before softly pressing his lips over hers in a gentle kiss. She leaned in and kissed him as well.  
  
-------  
  
    
  
By the door and unknown by both was Hitomi's brother with a smile on his face. He had opened the door a crack to check on them and was merely peaking to see how it had gone between the two. 'It seems that those two are finally back together' he thought. He turned and walked away to let the two lovebirds have their moment.  
  
-------  
  
After all the stored passion had gone away (sort of), Van pulled Hitomi away a bit. There were still things between them that were felt unsaid and he was still determined to straighten everything out. He merely gazed into her eyes and let his eyes say what he wanted before he even said anything.  
  
   "Now will you let Yukari have me?" Van commented with a smile, knowing that Hitomi wouldn't be able to resist him after that kiss. And if that didn't work, then he would have to find some other way like flowers or taking her somewhere nice.  
  
Hitomi turned away from Van, a sad look on her face. "I feel like I just betrayed my best friend," she responded earnestly. How was she going to tell Yukari now? She wasn't sure if she could tell her the truth.  
  
   Van put both his hands on Hitomi's shoulders and looked at her with love shining through his eyes. Even the coldest person in the world could see the love shining and even be touched by it. "You have to understand Hitomi that I don't love Yukari and I never will. I will always love YOU. Do you think it's fair that I be with Yukari when I love you? Sure, Yukari will be happy but we won't. You will watch us together and be miserable and I will watch you while I'm with Yukari and be totally miserable. It won't be fair to the both of us."  
  
   Although he had a good point, Hitomi still felt the betrayal. There was nothing that could make Hitomi stop having this feeling. But it also confused and angered her because aside from the guilt, she felt her love for Van grow. It might have grown ten times stronger since the last time she checked. She turned to look at Van. It pained her to say the next line. "But you could grow to love her."  
  
   Van shook his head dejectedly. "No I won't. I will always love only you Hitomi. You have to understand that."  
  
   Hitomi looked away and began to think about it. Perhaps he was right. Hitomi could tell that he would love only her and never grow to love Yukari. She would be happy with him but the both of them, Van and Hitomi, would be miserable and it wouldn't be fair to either of them. Just because it would make Yukari happy didn't mean they should give up on each other.  
  
   Hitomi looked up at Van and smiled. "You're right Van. It wouldn't be fair. I think we should just stay together and let Yukari find someone who will love her back. We can even help her."  
  
   Van smiled and wanted to burst from happiness because Hitomi finally understood. He bent down to kiss Hitomi again. This time Hitomi kissed him back without guilt.  
  
--------  
  
   Hitomi went to school the next day, scared and happy. She was scared because she didn't know how she was going to tell Yukari about her and Van being back together. On the other hand she was also happy because she could be with Van again.  
  
   "Hitomi!" she heard someone yell suddenly. Hitomi stopped dead in her tracks. She knew who that was. But was she read to tell her? She had come to school ready, but as soon as she heard her voice, she wasn't sure anymore. Either way, Hitomi turned around and a huge knot formed in her stomach.  
  
   Yukari stepped up to her and bent over to breath. Luckily she wasn't as tired as she had thought and said, "Hey Hitomi, you haven't by any chance seen Van have you?" She looked up and began to look all around the school. "I keep looking for him everywhere but I can't find him."  
  
   "Here I am," someone said suddenly. Hitomi's heart jumped while Yukari smiled.  
  
They both turned around to find Van standing there, leaning on a pillar, his arms crossed over his chest as he looked at them seriously. This was the moment Hitomi had been dreading ever since she found out that Yukari was in love with Van. She took a small step back as Yukari started to walk towards him.  
  
   Obviously, Van didn't know what Hitomi was thinking because instead of heading towards Yukari, he headed over to Hitomi and wrapped his arms around her. Yukari gasped as Van bent down to take Hitomi's lips in a kiss. That made Hitomi even guiltier because she didn't want Yukari to see that. She wanted to talk to her first.  
  
   She pointed from one to the other as she had a look of disbelief on her face. "You guys are together again?" Yukari asked with both jealousy and anger.  
  
   Hitomi didn't want to say anything but Van did. She looked down while Van spoke. "Yes Yukari. We love each other so we decided to stay together."  
  
   Yukari's face contorted into one of sadness. She looked at Hitomi and glared while tears streamed down her face. It made Hitomi's heart break. "I hate you Hitomi! Your not my best friend anymore!" (Pretty powerful words, ne?) And with that she went off running.  
  
   All Van and Hitomi could do was stand there, one looking neutral and the other looking miserable.  
  
--------  
  
    
  
'It's not fair! It's just not fair! Why does Hitomi have to get what she wanted? Why? Why did she have to steal Van from me?' she thought miserably as she ran through the streets. Where? She didn't know. All she knew was that she had to run. Run away from everything. Yukari ran and ran until she couldn't anymore. She was so heartbroken by what she saw. Hitomi had told her that she wasn't with Van anymore. Why? Why was this happening?  
  
   When she finally stopped, she found herself right outside Amano's house. She hadn't meant to end up there but she did and now she didn't know what to do. Should she confide in him and tell him what happened? She certainly could use someone to listen to her, since a certain best friend had backstabbed her.  
  
   She decided to do it and walked up to his door. She rang the bell and waited, wiping her tears as she did. 'I hope he's home' she thought. If he wasn't then she would just go home and cry herself to sleep.  
  
He opened after a while. When he saw her, his face turned into one of worry. "Yukari, what's wrong?" Amano asked with concern. He saw the tears in her eyes, which only made his concern grow.  
  
   She looked at him without emotion. "I hate Hitomi."  
  
   Amano was puzzled. He stepped out of the house and closed the door behind him. Why would she say such a thing? Did she really mean it? What could have happened? "Why do you hate Hitomi?"  
  
The memory made tears flow freely down Yukari's face again. "Because she stole Van away from me," she answered, her voice slightly breaking.  
  
   Amano blinked as he processed what she had just said. She had someone who Hitomi stole? That meant she had a boyfriend. She had never told him. He also either had noticed (though that was highly unlikely) or he just hadn't seen anything going on. He felt both jealousy and sadness after the confusion left. "I didn't know you were dating someone."  
  
   Yukari looked down at floor and started to fiddle with her hands. Her face turned a light shade of pink. "We weren't. It's just that Hitomi broke up with Van so I could have him. She swore she wouldn't get back together with him. She swore it!"  
  
   Amano didn't know then whether to feel more jealous or not to that. He looked calmly at her and said, "Yukari that was wrong, to have Hitomi who is probably so in love with Van, break up with him just for you. It isn't right."  
  
   Yukari looked down and then began to feel the shame. Perhaps he was right. Both of them WERE in love and she was selfish enough to break that love just so she could have Van at to herself. What had she been thinking? She had lost her best friend all because she was jealous. What a fool she was! She didn't really think about that once she would have Van, he would be with her but he wouldn't love her. You can't force someone to love you.  
  
--------  
  
After a long while of just standing there, Hitomi turned to look at Van with slight regret. "Did I do the right thing?" she asked, wanting Van's opinion before she decided to think about this on her own. She didn't really trust herself to answer her own questions at the moment.  
  
   Van turned to look at her then smile. How silly she could be. He reached out and gave Hitomi a loving hug. "Of course. Why should you sacrifice your love for me just because Yukari is in love with me? I think you did do the right thing. You deserve happiness Hitomi."  
  
   Hitomi snuggled into his embrace and her hands fluttered on his lean chest. "I'm going to have to find a way for Yukari to forgive me. I don't want her to hate me forever." That last thought made her snuggle closer. She wanted Van to just hug her and make all her pain go away.  
  
   Van slowly pulled Hitomi away in order to look her in the eye and tell her what he thought about all this. He took her hand softly between his. With the sun in the sky, lending its warmth to them, Van spoke. "If Yukari is in fact a good friend, she won't have any grudge against you. I'm sure everything will be fine."  
  
--------  
  
After much time of talking it over, Amano took Yukari home while the wind softly blowed. Amano had always had something for Yukari, but he never imagined that she liked someone else. Perhaps he should have paid more attention. But he was glad that her infatuation with him was over. He was ecstatic in fact. This gave him even more of a chance with her.  
  
   Yukari interrupted Amano from his thoughts by beginning to shiver a bit from the cold air. Amano gallantly took off his coat and placed it around Yukari. No reason for her to catch a cold. She looked up at him and smiled, causing Amano to blush and look away.  
  
   His blush deepened when Yukari snuggled closer to him, obviously looking for warmth. What he didn't imagine was that she was looking for the warmth in his heart.  
  
--------  
  
The next day:  
  
    
  
As the sun beat its rays down and the wind softly blowed to give coolness from them, Hitomi walked to school alone. Van promised to walk with her and give her a little support but his mother called in and told her that he had come down with the flu. Hitomi actually felt guilty for going to school and leaving Van sick, but she knew that his mom would take care of him. The least Hitomi could do was go to his house after school and give him flowers.  
  
   "Hey Hitomi!" someone called off in the distance.  
  
Hitomi froze dead in her tracks. She processed the voice in a second but was confused. Had she heard right? Was that voice actually cheery and sounding happy to see her? She turned around to find a happy Yukari running up to her, a large smile on her face and no trace of anything other than happiness shining in her eyes.  
  
"H-hey Yukari," Hitomi said nervously. She had expected Yukari to still be made and even hate her but it didn't seem to be that. But she still needed to be sure. She had to make sure Yukari HAD in fact forgiven her.  
  
   When Yukari reached Hitomi, she hugged her tenderly, making Hitomi gasp in surprise. "I want to thank you for showing me that I can't force Van to love me. And I also want to thank you because if it weren't for you, Amano and I wouldn't be together."  
  
   Hitomi blinked and pulled away in amazement. "You and Amano are dating?" she asked, almost laughing in giddiness. But she stayed composed.  
  
Yukari nodded her head, her smile growing. "Yesterday he talked to me and convinced me that you and Van being together was actually beneficial for all of us." That caused her blush and Hitomi smiled, knowing what she meant by "beneficial for all of us". She had known about Amano's love for Yukari. She paid attention when Yukari continued. "Also, that I can't force Van to love me when he clearly loves you."  
  
   Hitomi smiled at Yukari to show Yukari that there were no hard feelings. Hitomi was glad that Yukari was her old self again. It gave her the biggest relief in the world. She now had her best friend back and she was glad. The world was looking a whole lot brighter. "I'm glad you finally found someone for yourself."  
  
   Yukari turned around and began to walk. "Let's go. I don't want to be late for class," she giggled.  
  
   Hitomi ran a bit to catch up with Yukari, both laughing so loud that the other students looked at them as though they had gone mad.  
  
The world was now a brighter place for everyone…  
  
~The end~  
  
Zakyra: WHAT?!?!?!? YOU MEAN THAT'S ALL?!?!?!?  
  
HitomiFanel: Calm down Zakyra. There's more. There's an epilogue that closes this all up.  
  
Zakyra: I'm glad.  
  
HitomiFanel: And if you want to read it, then…  
  
HitomiFanel and Zakyra: PLEASE REVIEW!!!!! ^_^V (HF) ^_~ (Z)  
  
HitomiFanel: And I just want to say again that I'm sorry for not posting sooner. I had to go where there was no computer (had to be there for a week) so I wasn't given the opportunity to update. I hope you all can forgive me. 


	13. The New Kid Epilogue

HitomiFanel: Yay!!!! Epilogue now out!!!

Zakyra: It's kinda sad that this is over…

HitomiFanel: Yeah, but I'm planning to write a sequel.

Zakyra: Yay!

Van (appearing suddenly): What about a sequel?

HitomiFanel: Vanny-chan! (goes and hugs him)

Zakyra: Hey Van. Glad you could join us.

Van: Sorry about not coming earlier. Those meetings with those boring advisors really tie ya up.

HitomiFanel: I was just telling the audience about the sequel I've planned on making.

Van (eyes bulge): Sequel!? But you have too many fics out!

HitomiFanel (pouts): Not you too…

Zakyra (addressing audience): Just go ahead and read the fic. The summary of the sequel is included at the end.

HitomiFanel: Enjoy your stay here in Fanelia!

The New Kid

Disclaimer: I don't own Escaflowne 

~Epilogue~ 

It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon. The sun beat down on Tokyo, causing the day to be so hot, people went to public pools for the day. It was gorgeous. Both Van and Hitomi decided to take a walk through the park. They walked hand in hand, loving each other's company. Hitomi turned to look at Van and smiled. To her happiness, he smiled back which sent chills down her spine.   
She hugged Van's arm and snuggled up against him. "I'm glad it's all over. You and I are finally together with out anyone bothering us."   
Van hugged her even closer. "Yeah. It's actually amazing that I'm here with you. It all seems like a dream."   
Hitomi chuckled, causing a contagious reaction. Van chuckled back. "What's so funny?"   
"Well, the fact that you are turning into Mr. Romantic all of a sudden."   
Van smiled playfully. "What, you don't think I can be romantic?"   
"Well you never were before. I can't seem to remember you ever being romantic."   
Van pulled away and stood in front of her. A mischievous smile hung on his lips. Hitomi looked at him skeptically. "What is going through that mind of yours?"   
Van walked over to her side and with both hands, scooped Hitomi up into his arms. With her in his arms, he started twirling her around and around.   
Hitomi squealed in pleasure. "Van! Put me down!" she yelled as she giggled.   
The people around them watched as Van twirled her around, some smiled, and others watched enviously, wishing their own boyfriends would do that. Or for those who didn't have boyfriends, they wished they did.   
When Van finally placed Hitomi down, he pulled her as close as possible, and kissed her. In that kiss, all time seemed to stand still. Nothing mattered to them. Not the people around them, not the homework they had to do over the weekend, nothing. All that mattered was that one moment.   
When Van reluctantly pulled away, he stared at Hitomi who still had her eyes closed. Her lips were trembling and her cheeks were a rosy pink. Van thought Hitomi was the most beautiful girl in the whole entire universe. When he spoke, he spoke softly. "Now is that romantic or what?" he asked.   
Hitomi opened her eyes and blushed. "Y-yeah, that was pretty romantic."   
But that wasn't all. "Well it's not over with yet. I'm going to take you to the most expensive restaurant in town. We'll have a candlelight dinner. After that, we can go see a movie or go dancing. That's your choice."   
Hitomi hugged him close. "I don't care, as long I am with you."   
With their arms around each other, they continued walking down the pathway of their new life. 

--------

~Years later~ 

At the resturant, Chez Perrie, a young woman sat at a table waiting for someone. She was going impatient and every little while she would check her watch.   
The woman's golden brown hair cascaded all around her shoulders in beautiful waves of curls. Her bright green eyes scrolled the room, looking for the person she was waiting for.   
Finally, she got so impatient, she got up, her elegant emerald dress hugging her figure and shifting in place as she got up. But she sat right back down again when she saw the person she was waiting for walk through the door. She pretended not to look.   
The young man, looking a couple months older than the 20 year old girl, had unruly jet-black hair. Something he had forever and never seemed to get rid of at his girlfriends request. He wore a black tuxedo that matched his hair perfectly. He seemed to appear nervous as he kept touching his right pocket to make sure something was still inside. His right pocket had a lump in it.   
The young man walked over to the table where the impatient young woman was sitting. She didn't even look up at him when he sat down.   
"You're late," she whispered without turning to face him.   
"I'm sorry. I got stuck in traffic."   
Now she turned to face him. Their was such anger gleaming in her green eyes. "That's your excuse for everything."   
The man flashed her a charming smile. When he smiled, all her anger seemed to disappear. It was hard to stay mad at him.   
Especially considering the fact that she was so in love with him.   
"I promise to be on time for our dates from now on," the young man said. He began to appear a little bit more nervous than before. The young woman noticed this. "Are you okay? You look kinda pale."   
The young man caught into his closed hand and brought himself down to the floor. He kneeled down on one knee in front of her, taking one of her hands in his. "I will be after I ask you this." He sighed and went ahead and said it. "Hitomi Kanzaki, I love you with all of my heart, will you do me the honor of giving me your hand in marriage?"   
He brought out the little velvet box and opened it to reveal a beautiful diamond ring.   
Hitomi was speechless. Tears brimmed in her eyes and threatened to run down her face. She looked at the smiling young man. "Oh Van. Yes! I will!"   
Van got up and hugged Hitomi close. He twirled her around as the people around them clapped and whooped for joy. 

----------

~Months later~ 

Everyone was busy with the hustle and bustle of the preparations for the wedding. Van was fitted for his suit while Hitomi was fitted for her dress. The whole time, Van and Hitomi thought about the happiness they were going to spend together.   
As for Van and Hitomi's parents, they were nervous wrecks. While Hitomi and Van's moms worried about the flowers, the cake, and many other little details, Van and Hitomi's dads were busy worrying about the bill. It seemed that no matter where they went, they were handed a bill of $100 or $500. It just didn't seem to stop. 

At the ceremony, everyone attended. Allen was with Millerna, Merle was sitting on Folken's lap, both of them sitting next to their mom, and even Yukari and Amano were there. Everyone was very happy for the young couple.   
Once the wedding march song came on, everyone rose and turned to the back of the room. Van, who was standing at the altar, stood on his tippy toes to look over the many heads at his wife-to-be, but he just couldn't see her.   
Hitomi, who was holding on to her father's arm, walked through down the isle, happy as any woman could be. 

Finally, it all came down to one question. Van and Hitomi stood at the altar, facing each other, both with smile on their faces.   
"Do you, Van Fanel, take Hitomi Kanzaki, to be your lawfully wedded wife?"   
"I do."   
"And do you, Hitomi Kanzaki, take Van Fanel to be your lawfully wedded husband?"   
"I do."   
The priest raised his arms. "By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you, husband and wife, you may now kiss the bride."   
Van inched a step closer to Hitomi, lifting the veil. He slightly gasped as he saw how beautiful Hitomi looked. Inching even more closer, he kissed her as everyone rose and cheered.

~The end~ 

Zakyra: Awwww, what a cute ending :"

HitomiFanel: I hope everyone liked it.

Zakyra: I'm sure they did.

HitomiFanel: Now I need some feedback. A few parts back I asked people what they thought about me making a sequel to this fic. I didn't really get many responses expect maybe two or three.

HitomiFanel: I encourage you to tell me what you think about me making a sequel. Here's the summary on what will happen:

Happens many years into the future when Van and Hitomi move to another part of Tokyo. They have a son who's 17, and a daughter who's 15. Both are having their own love problems. Their son, Vanyel, likes a girl at school but she likes another boy (reminds you of Van ne?) and their daughter, Tiffany has an admirer but there's this girl who likes him and doesn't want them together. Tiffany, meanwhile, already has a crush on another boy she meets who is nice to her…or does he have other plans with her? Then there's Van and Hitomi. Hitomi and Van moved there because Hitomi got a new job and when she goes into the office, there's this guy that's all over her. Van, of course, is protective and jealous when he learns about this flirty guy who's trying to have his way with Van's wife. Can Van stop him?

HitomiFanel: There it is. Did it sound interesting? I'm thinking that it's too much like a repetition of this one but the idea just popped into my head. I hope you send me feedback! And as always…

HitomiFanel, Van and Zalyra: PLEASE REVIEW!!!! ^_^V (HF) ^_~ (Z) :-) (V)


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